Any chance Trump will quit before the election?

No, his ego won't allow it.

Doubt it.

From your lips to God’s ears, OP!

If not at ama

This has been bandied about ad nauseam on another thread. No--he has more to lose by quitting and giving up the protection he's been afforded as president than being an "ordinary" ex-president, given his corruption.

About as likely as Trump-obsessed trolls will quit posting hourly threads about their O B S E S S I O N.

No, sociopaths never go quietly.

If he were smart, he’d quit now and have Pence pardon him.

But of course he isn’t. So he won’t.

Quit before the election? They’re going to have forcibly remove him from the White House if Biden is elected.

He doesn't need Pence to pardon him, R8. He's the president. He can pardon himself, not that he'll have to. But if he does, he will.

Did Pence take a fall to deflect from tRump's ramp teetering?

I've said it a hundred times--Trump has more power as president than most people here can contemplate, and he has the GOP slavishly devoted to him. There's been a quaint notion on DL that the GOP, recognizing just how unpopular he is and how deadly he'll be for the GOP in2020, will force him out. To which I say: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have they done anything, even when the mid-terms went to the Dems in 2018, to control Dump?

No. They saved him from removal even after the Dems won in 2018.

He's jot going anywhere 5 months into the end of his first (hopefully only) term.

the pollster who got Michigan right in 2016 claims that Biden is only up 1 point in Michigan right now. Trump's numbers are artificially deflated. People dont want to tell pollsters, friends or family they are voting for him again. Biden probably wins but watch for Trump to outperform polls again.

He’ll stay for the election, like Hitler in his bunker as the Russians enter the city. I don’t expect him to make a coherent concession speech, but he may call for violence. He will not resign. After the election, though, he’ll decamp to Mar-a-lago, sulk. and do no work.

He will not give Biden a tour of the White House, and there will be no brunch with the Bidens before the ride to the Capital. He won’t come back from,p Florida for the inauguration.

Oh, I just thought of the best burn. Biden should ask the Obamas to share the ride to the Capital, Oh, that would be sweet. Then Biden ought to keep saying, “ how about that crowd!”

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

IF the Supreme Court rules that his taxes can be publicly released and IF he can find a way to bribe enough people on the DOJ to pardon him , he may try to leave earlier to spare himself the humiliation of defeat. Based on how the primaries are going, there looks to be another HUGE blue wave again in November. There's a lot if "ifs" still out there, but he already knows he will lose, I'm sure of it.

[quote] He will not give Biden a tour of the White House, and there will be no brunch with the Bidens before the ride to the Capital.

I suspect Biden may remember the way, and already have a favorite spot for an egg and cheese croissant with coffee.

[quote]People dont want to tell pollsters, friends or family they are voting for him again.

That was a bullshit cover story in 2016 and it's a bullshit cover story now.

People wanted an explanation as to how Trump could win states like Florida where early voting showed HRC had it in the bag, so the GOP floated the excuse that the polls were wrong because people were too scared to admit they were voting Trump. Bull. Shit. They weren't too scared to say they were voting for, say, Tulsi, or white supremacist Chuck Baldwin, or Nixon back in the day, or Arthur J. Jones, or W after he was disgraced, but they won't tell an anonymous pollster they'll vote Trump? Come the fuck on.

No. No chance. I do not want the liar, Pence. He us awful.

I hope there are cops there when he walks out of the White House who will arrest him.

R13 is talking about Robert Cahaly, a Republican consultant with the Trafalgar Group, and who has been the major proponent of the "shy voter" theory. If you look him up, talking about the "shy voter" to places like Breitbart and Newsmax is pretty much all he does, but not a single study has verified his theory. The independent American Association for Public Opinion Research found no evidence of it at all.

As R21 says, the pollster showing Biden only ahead by 1 point in Michigan is at odds with the other state polling for Michigan and with the National polls showing Biden with an average lead of 10 points.

It's possible that the election will tighten over the next 4 months, but as Harry Enten said, there is no evidence so far of "shy Trump voters"

She's mentally deranged. I hope she was fired from her job and ostracized from her community. Shrieking cunt faced bitch.

"IF the Supreme Court rules that his taxes can be publicly released and IF he can find a way to bribe enough people on the DOJ to pardon him , he may try to leave earlier to spare himself the humiliation of defeat." Won't happen, R16.

Nor will he be arrested, R20.

This is all magical thinking.

R23, who?

I don’t think Trump would ever trust Pence or anyone to pardon him, once he is out of office and his power diminished. He’ll still have Twitter, and his cult will still listen to him, so there will always be that to deal with.

Putting aside his other atrocities, think about all the careers he has ruined just in and around the Administration. Most of those people who testified against him were fired or demoted. Their legal expenses ate into their savings. Then there was Don McGahn, I think, who was fired a day before his pension eligibility. Or the cabinet member who was fired via tweet, while on route from Africa to the US; and Comey, (I think it was), who learned he was fired by a news feed he saw while teaching a class

Also it's inexplicably why the dumb Dems are pussyfooting around! They need to go for the jugular now that fatBarr is getting all of Dumpster's cronies off. Right now, that FatOrangsAss thinks the skies the limit. Why don't they summon subpoenas to Munchkin and evil Barr himself! If NPD plans to go soft on these Fatasses now, she and the rest of the Dems will not be taken seriously from now on.

I realize Nadler is holding hearings, but it has no traction! And there's a lot more damage the Repugs can still do from now and November to prevent any legal action to Dump et al.. Why are they so stupid!? It seems to me that each Dem on a personal level agree with what Dump is doing. If they are weak now folks, they are signaling that they plan to let the Repugs out-maneuver and outsmart them later on - which I guess is so easy to do. And...if we do get into power this November, we better be sure to get some younger pit bulls to put it these corrupt criminals. (NDP and Nadler will not do it for us!).

He counts on Putin to hack the voting results. He needs to stay POTUS to make sure he can't be charged with anything. He doesn't care about governing. He just wants to protect his ass at this point.

He expects the GOP and the right wing media to create the narrative that he gets re-elected fair and square.

Democrats haven't the courts, the Senate, nor the White House. (Don’t have the majority of states either.)

How are they to “go for the jugular”?

Need to spend that energy on trying to get out a (Putin/Republican chest swamping) overwhelming vote.

Trump and the GOP cry like whiny bitches, because radical Pelosi clapped in a weird way. They have more power than ever, and they still pretend they are victims of the radical left while McConnell stacks the courts in the GOP's favor and they block every measure to keep Trump in check.

It's so obvious that OrangeAss and Fatass Barr are breaking the law in trying to protect both Flynn and Stone, yet NPD and Nadler can't seem to stop it. Are they trying to gat Barr impeached? Or even to step down? Can they hold public hearings? Seems the answer is 'no'. They need any and all of those bastards to either appear or cut off any and all funding. No paycheck to those who fail to show up for hearings!

R27 and R31, Nadler already released a statement a few days ago saying that Barr is corrupt and deserves to be impeached but that there's no point since the Republicans in the Senate won't vote for it.

This is exactly what I'm describing. This defeatist attitude, that all is for not, is similar to a toddler saying 'Why should I wipe my butt when I'm only going to shit again! No! What is needed is an effective congressional hearing that reveals how corrupt these criminals are. Ask Barr about Epstein, Flynn and Stone. Ask Flynn about his deals with Ergohan and sitting next to Putin for the Russian news agency. Introduce exhibits that contradicts their testimony. Then compel the courts to find them guilty of perjury! Mark my words that if NDP or Nadler are clean themselves, then they'll have no fear of reprisals.

This is NOT curing cancer or COVID folks. It is the way are legal system works! All I know is these old-timey Dems need to retire or we need to freshen them out somehow because that is how the worlds works now. Let's get real!

No OP.

R33 = frustrated idiot

R33. What I'm describing is REAL! The media is not spinning it our way. This is probably due to the resurrection of Covid. MSNBC, I know for a fact, is almost exclusively talking about Covid. In the meantime, Barr is actively letting Flynn and Stone get away. You r35 cannot deny this fact.

Just now on MSNBC, they interviewed a mayor (a Dem mayor, at least) that Covid infections are soaring. Next topic: American citizens will not be allowed into Europe along with Brazil AND Russia. Then a student interviewed about Covid's effect on mental health. I'm not suggesting that Covid is not important. It's just that Barr is using it while he lets go Flynn and Stone.

If he does lose, just imagine all the damage he can legally do between November and January.

There's been a quaint notion on DL that the GOP, recognizing just how unpopular he is and how deadly he'll be for the GOP in2020, will force him out. To which I say: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! - !!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, now hold on R12; I think it's clear that the one that really calls the shots is McConnell - without McConnell's support, Dump is nothing. Even Barr's little power play failed last week not only failed but backfired spectacularly because Miss Lindsay of all people wouldn't play along - didn't even pretend to!

With the prospects of the repig senators in question, the virus raging through the red states and the primaries basically over, is it really out of the realm of possibility that they could jettison Dump to save themselves? Now, that could be wrong - I read articles about how when the battle of Layfayette Square went down, Mitt told the repigs that it was too late to back away from Dump, so no one criticized him. But if given the lukewarm reception in Tulsa, might they look at that & calculate that Dump is more trouble than he's worth?

Someone should start needling Dump that Billy Barr is really running the country.

R17, There was no love between the Eisenhowers and the Trumans . . .

By Inauguration Day, January 20, 1953, President-elect Eisenhower had lost his normally sunny disposition when the subject of President Truman came up. Contemplating the trip the two would make from the White House to the Capitol, Eisenhower wondered aloud "if I can stand sitting next to that guy."

When Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower arrived at the White House to pick up the President for the ride to the Capitol, they not only refused to enter for a cup of coffee with the Trumans, but stayed in the vehicle until Truman came outside. CBS correspondent Eric Sevareid, who observed the incident, wrote, "It was a shocking moment." Head usher J. B. West put it this way: "I was glad I wasn't in that car."

I think that “ride to the inauguration “ tradition is a stupid one. It’s not as bad when the incumbent has served two terms already or simply didn’t run in the election for some reason, but in a case like today, assuming Trump loses, for him to ride with the guy who beat him, is more than we should expect form the candidates. Likewise, I think the outgoing President should skip the ceremony and be thinking about how much silverware he can get aware of stealing, instead.

Given Trump's eating habits, my personal fantasy is that he keels over from a massive heart attack some time in August, and the Republicans run a black conservative who renders Joe Biden toast.

One news commentator thinks there is a slim chance that he'll give us the finger and walk out. Maybe he'll even say he gave us the best economy at one point and we don't deserve him.

I think Orangutan knows he is not winning, especially at this point in time. I know he's a pompous ass, but he must have an inkling so he's trying to get as much possible - Including getting rid of Obamacare.

He did something similar when NBC fired him. He said, "Whatever! I quit anyway! I'm running for president!"

Strong disagree, R42. In fact, tradition in this case, is exactly equal to the statues they are fighting so hard to preserve.

This tradition represents a peaceful transition of power and an affirmation that what unites us is stronger than what we disagree on.

Had Hillary skipped 45's inaugural we would be in even worse shape now than we already are because it would have emboldened the far right fringe to storm the gates and slaughter the enemy. It may not seem like it, but Fox and the right had to actually put some effort into convincing enough people to let them steal as much as they have.

Imaging that in reverse: if he storms out like the toddler he really is we will have that visual to use as kindling on the fire of burning down the GOP

The short answer, R39: No, again, that's magical thinking.

R45, did NBC fire him? Do you know the details?

R46, would you please expand on your paragraphs 3&4? It sounds interesting, but I don’t know what you mean.

Trump takes personal insult to an extreme level. In the past, there were surrogates who would do that. Didn’t Spiro Agnew get a nickname for that? I recall at the funeral for Poppy Bush, Turnip shook hands and greeted Pres. Carter, but I don’t think any other Presidential couple. I know Hillary gave him the cold shoulder, and rightly so.

Biden is big enough to overlook the “sleepy Joe” comments, but the criminal complaints that Trump threw at Hillary, were way over the top.

Here’s what I wrote on another site in August, 2018:

Question: Is Donald Trump Highly Likely to Resign This Year?

Answer: No. In the past, Trump only settled lawsuits or declared bankruptcy when he could convince himself that he was actually “getting something over” on his opponents (or partners). He’s a petty man and enjoys that kind of thing. Another example of such a thing is his frequent refusal to pay his contractors, even for minute sums.

He is over-sensitive to insults and slights, so the prospect of ouster will only make him dig his heels in. As he gets closer to impeachment or removal for incompetence under Amendment 25, he will conclude that the people have failed him, personally, and therefore do not deserve him, or a peaceful transition. He will resolve to burn it all down, rather than leave for the good of the country. This really isn’t anything new, as he has never placed his country ahead of his own personal gain.

Expect him to continue to try to stir-up his base. He will encourage violence, all while denying he is doing so, just like he has done since he started campaigning. He will escalate his attacks on the Press, the Justice Department, the Democrats, and especially Hillary and Obama. He will try to ally himself with the Police and the Military.

Despite some isolated incidents of violence by the completely brainwashed, he will fail in creating domestic upheaval. I also expect him to try lashing out at some soft targets internationally. Perhaps Venezuela, but also possibly North Korea or Iran. We’ll have to hope his cabinet has him on a short leash, in such a case.

He might want to quit but will not be allowed to. It is just not Trump who needs a pardon but a lot of people (including most of his family) around him. And a Pence pardon will only cover federal crimes. It still leaves them open to other criminal proceedings.

Not that I believe that Trump will be prosecuted for anything. It would set a dangerous precedent to prosecute a former POTUS and the democrats do not have the guts to do it

One of the things I think people are overlooking is that Trump, Fox and the right are HARD pushing his version of "Law & Order" juxtaposed to "Rule of Law"; What they are arguing incessantly right now is that their base got pushed down and shoved aside in the past because lefties, libtards, and Democrat "laws" made them weak. What makes 45 so dangerous--and why we shouldn't wait for November is at all possible--is that he is the emblem as well as the enabler of a movement to exercise MORAL law rather than civil law.

Part of what we saw yesterday was exposure to an element who are ready to break free from the confines of tradition and structure and compromise to restore America to it's God-granted glory. The strength of the establishment benefits from reinforcing how successful we have been so far (theoretically) and it is delegitimized by the breaking of norms. I believe this is why Nancy is so (vocally) opposed to an impeachment trial for Barr and also why Fox is so invested in story after story after story of angry mobs tearing down statues. A trial and/or continued removal of tangible monuments tear at the fabric of civilized society and incite Christian Warriors towards their Holy War.

What Fox and I agree on is that the "good" people of America are scared and they want things to get back to "normal" ASAP. Unfortunately, what most of those people would consider acceptable never worked for a huge percentage of people of color and, now that Pandora's box has been opened, that paradigm doesn't even exist anymore, let alone as a comforting place to return to. So, Nancy is trying to not stir the pot while Fox has an industrial strength immersion mixer in it.

My point above is that Hillary knew that then. Whatever else you say about her, it was a patriotic duty for her to show up (and be booed). I will further add that Bernie and AOC may have had good intentions (or, maybe not) but their recklessly charging into the future, completely and willfully unencumbered by the messy past also did damage to the country. That is why I personally dislike and distrust them so much; there were other and better tactics to communicate their message.

But what I was saying is that the knife cuts both ways: those same confused and scared Americans who what everything to die down are just as willing for Joe and Nancy and the rest of us to manage the situation and, more importantly, have faith that we can. And that is why yesterday Tom Cotton was ranting like a racist lunatic and trying to poison the well with talk of Marion Berry vs. all-but-all-white Wyoming. Cheetolini flying off in a huff and behaving like a petulant child is counter to the narrative they have been pushing of him as the lynchpin of their leadership. Subsequently, if they lose him, they lose the high ground as keepers of the faith.

No. But he certainly isn’t trying very hard to get re-elected. In fact, he actively seems to be sabotaging himself. I think he knows he’s toast and will just try to inflict as much pain and misery as he can.

Trump will go out the way his idol Adolf did.

R54, he’s moving to Argentina?

No quitting for Tumpy. He's facing lawsuits out of his hootin nanny once the presidency is over. Why rush?

Here's what will be more fascinating-- if he continues this streak of self-immolation, e.g., asking SCOTUS to eliminate Obamacare without proposing an alternative in the middle of an epidemic and having Barr ride roughshod on the Justice Dept., then there's an real chance for an unprecedented Democratic landslide.

So if we hit September and October and Trump is down by over 20 points in the polls and people like McTurtle and Lady G are trailing by double digits, what does the GOP do?

And sorry DL MARY!s, they don't try and stop the election. If Trump is really down by 20+ points, the country won't stand for it, and the military certainly is not in Trump's corner.

His submission to the SC to overturn Obamacare is just so fucking evil. There are no words. Seems he wants to lose.

He won't quit because the NYS Court is waiting for him.

that's only putting off the inevitable, r59.

No, but I am starting to wonder if he's giving up. Either way, he'll go out shrieking and hollering about how it was all stolen and fake news and fake election, but secretly relieved that he doesn't have to deal with anything anymore.

No.

Did hell just freeze over?

Why, r63? It’s just another crazy nutty day in Dump’s America.

[quote]Had Hillary skipped 45's inaugural we would be in even worse shape now than we already are because it would have emboldened the far right fringe to storm the gates and slaughter the enemy. It may not seem like it, but Fox and the right had to actually put some effort into convincing enough people to let them steal as much as they have.

Hillary was not the outgoing president.

Now that Mary's book is guaranteed to come out and the Supreme Court will release his taxes, there is a good chance he wiil simply leave the country. But then Mittens will be right there. He might win, too. I'm not sure Dump could handle that. He's still preaching to the choir as if they alone are enough to win the Presidency. This is why people who are not rabid about him and are not part of his cult will not support him.

(In my dreams, many former Trump voters will tell everyone they'll vote for him again, but once behind that curtain, they'll vote for Biden (or do a write-in). HA!

Q: What is the course of action if Donald Trump decides not to run for re-election, either because he can't stand the thought of being thumped by Joe Biden on Election Day, or because the biggest of Republican bigwigs decide for him that he has to go? C.W., Kansas City, MO

A: There are three basic scenarios. And note that all of these are predicated on Trump either voluntarily dropping out, or else becoming unavailable due to death or disability. There is nothing in Republican Party rules, as they currently stand, that would allow them to cashier Trump against his will: •Trump drops out tomorrow: There are no longer enough unpledged delegates available for anyone besides Trump to claim the Republican nomination. So, if Trump were to throw in the towel tomorrow, or next week, or anytime before the Republican convention, then we would have an open convention, and his pledged delegates would become free agents. Exactly how many times they would have to vote for Trump before becoming free agents depends on the circumstances of his departure, and the state the delegates hail from, but the vast majority of them would be free to vote their personal preference after the second ballot. Party leadership would presumably try to steer the delegates toward a favored candidate, most likely Mike Pence, though if Trump were to die tragically, there might be sentiment for someone like Ivanka Trump in order to "honor" his legacy. And, in any event, there aren't smoke-filled rooms at the conventions anymore, so the delegates might be willing to be led, but they might not be.

•Trump drops out the day after the convention: Now, this is where smoke-filled rooms enter the equation. By Republican Party rules, the replacement candidate in this circumstance would be chosen by the 168 members of the RNC. The same would be true for the Democrats, incidentally, except that the DNC has a little over 400 members.

•Trump drops out the day before the election: At some point—and this is determined by state law in the various states and D.C.—it would be too late to legally remove Trump's name from the ballot. That time would definitely have arrived by the day before the election and, in most states, would arrive by Oct. 1. In that case, the Republican Party would announce that a vote for Donald Trump is really a vote for [X], where [X] is the Party's favored candidate. Again, that would presumably be Mike Pence. And depending on how the upcoming Supreme Court decision about faithless electors comes down, it might have to be Mike Pence.

Lots of this type of questions, plus some possible answers.

Q: What is the course of action if Donald Trump decides not to run for re-election, either because he can't stand the thought of being thumped by Joe Biden on Election Day, or because the biggest of Republican bigwigs decide for him that he has to go? C.W., Kansas City, MO A: There are three basic scenarios. And note that all of these are predicated on Trump either voluntarily dropping out, or else becoming unavailable due to death or disability. There is nothing in Republican Party rules, as they currently stand, that would allow them to cashier Trump against his will: Trump drops out tomorrow: There are no longer enough unpledged delegates available for anyone besides Trump to claim the Republican nomination. So, if Trump were to throw in the towel tomorrow, or next week, or anytime before the Republican convention, then we would have an open convention, and his pledged delegates would become free agents. Exactly how many times they would have to vote for Trump before becoming free agents depends on the circumstances of his departure, and the state the delegates hail from, but the vast majority of them would be free to vote their personal preference after the second ballot. Party leadership would presumably try to steer the delegates toward a favored candidate, most likely Mike Pence, though if Trump were to die tragically, there might be sentiment for someone like Ivanka Trump in order to "honor" his legacy. And, in any event, there aren't smoke-filled rooms at the conventions anymore, so the delegates might be willing to be led, but they might not be.

Trump drops out the day after the convention: Now, this is where smoke-filled rooms enter the equation. By Republican Party rules, the replacement candidate in this circumstance would be chosen by the 168 members of the RNC. The same would be true for the Democrats, incidentally, except that the DNC has a little over 400 members.

Trump drops out the day before the election: At some point—and this is determined by state law in the various states and D.C.—it would be too late to legally remove Trump's name from the ballot. That time would definitely have arrived by the day before the election and, in most states, would arrive by Oct. 1. In that case, the Republican Party would announce that a vote for Donald Trump is really a vote for [X], where [X] is the Party's favored candidate. Again, that would presumably be Mike Pence. And depending on how the upcoming Supreme Court decision about faithless electors comes down, it might have to be Mike Pence.

Sorry for the double post. DL is acting up again.

I do want to say one thing about this topic—I don’t think there is any way that Dump drops out of his own accord. No way. I believe he hates the job, but he hates being though of as a chickenshit even more. The only way he would resign is if he were forced to. Whether things get bad enough that the GOP forces his hand is something we’ll have to wait and see.

Nixon’s approval ratings were in the mid-20s when he resigned. So were Dubaya’s at the end of his term. We know 1976 and 2008 were tremendous years for Democrats. I think even low 30s will be enough to start the discussion in the GOP. A Romney or Pence probably won’t win, but they will bring some Republican voters back for sure, maybe enough to stave off a Democratic landslide.

While a Romney candidacy would be the best thing for our democracy, there is not a snowball's chance in hell that the GOP would put him up-- their rank and file regard him as a traitor and won't vote for him.

He'll die but it will be several weeks before the use of doubles to impersonate him falls apart.

R71 is 100% correct. The rabid, Fox News fan base HATES Romney. They have treated him as the greatest traitor, greatest threat to this country since Hillary and AOC - LOL. Mittens is done for in the GOP for now anyway.

Mittens would not be good for our democracy. This is the man who promised us war with Russia and Iran in 2012.

[quote]When Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower arrived at the White House to pick up the President for the ride to the Capitol, they not only refused to enter for a cup of coffee with the Trumans, but stayed in the vehicle until Truman came outside. [bold]CBS correspondent Eric Sevareid, who observed the incident, wrote, "It was a shocking moment."[/bold]

So: not only a cunt to Jackie Kennedy when she was pregnant, but a cunt to Bess Truman as the poor woman was leaving the White House. No wonder DL worships Mamie.

This Putin/Taliban thing could definitely lead to a resignation within weeks. Whistleblowers gonna blow.

r67, Thank you for this information.

Of course not. Putin will have him elected again. Trump need not worry.

Naw. He needs to die in office or its a life behind bars if he doesn't win. The GOP and Putin will steal the election for him again.

No. He began believing his own lies and fantasies years ago. So he will continue to say the polls are fake or rigged and thus refuse to believe he should quit before the hammer falls.

I mean, come on--- he's now saying the news about the Russian bounty offers is not true, by the Fake NYT.

He will resign if he is assured immunity from criminal prosecution for him and his family. Everybody else can go fuck themselves.

He’s going to lose—bigly! It will be over by 8 pm ET on Nov. 3. He’ll behave like a fucking baby, but he’ll leave the WH. Before inauguration, I’m sure. He’s already lost support from GOP leadership, who are fucking cowards, but few are speaking out in defense of him anymore. They won’t side with him if he tries to stay after losing, and the military sure as hell won’t either.

The GOP knows they’re fucked, but they’ve put themselves in an impossible position. The smart move would be to boot him now. If they did, they might keep the Senate. But they’re terrified his base of morons will desert them. So they’re going down with the ship, and dragging the entire party with them. Good fucking riddance.

Oh, and the dimwits who are in his cult won’t revolt or start a civil war. They’ll fade into the scenery.

This nightmare will soon be over, and we can focus on the virus and the economy.

[quote] It will be over by 8 pm ET on Nov. 3.

It won’t and I hope people are preparing themselves for that. There will be a tremendous amount of voting by mail in this election and those votes will take days, perhaps weeks to count.

While I agree with what you wrote, mail-in balloting may mean that we will need to wait several days for the final call.

Though I fervently wish that the tide will be so against him that networks will call it at 8PM

This Russia thing is getting worse and worse. The latest is that officials were alerted about the Taliban situation as early as January.

Suddenly the idea of President Pelosi doesn’t sound so wacko.

He should quit for the PR or else forever be branded a loser.

LOL. R52 thought this was the letters section of the Economist.

[quote]It won’t and I hope people are preparing themselves for that. There will be a tremendous amount of voting by mail in this election and those votes will take days, perhaps weeks to count.

Elections are called all the time before the final vote count is known, drama queen.

I still think it's a possibility. Trump has never taken responsibility for anything in his entire life. When the going gets tough he takes off and declares bankruptcy. Or he just leaves a business in tatters and waddles away. The courts have never held him responsible for anything, and I think he assumes they never will.

He has never seen anything- not one thing- through to the bitter end, including marriages. He is a quitter and always has been. As a narcissist what he fears more than losing is being humiliated. And it looks like he is heading towards not just a loss, but a humiliating one unless Putin can pull out another win for him.

I don't think it will happen, but I also don't think it's silly to talk about. Trump isn't normal. He's a malignant narcissist and a sociopath. Quitting would be right in his wheelhouse.

[quote]Though I fervently wish that the tide will be so against him that networks will call it at 8PM

They damn well better not. Remember when Carter conceded while the polls in the west were still open? Spelled disaster for a lot of Democrats who stayed home once they heard.

Are pigs flying outside of your window?

Yes R90 and that is why the networks don't call anything until all the polls are closed.

But polls are not closed at 8PM ET, which is what r82 was suggesting.

FoxNews is talking about this. Here's some parts of the article (no link because evil site or scary site or something.)

[quote]A stretch of lackluster polling for President Trump has some Republican operatives nervous about the president’s reelection prospects in November – with some even floating the possibility for the first time that Trump could drop out if his poll numbers don’t rebound.

[quote] “It’s too early, but if the polls continue to worsen, you can see a scenario where he drops out,” one GOP operative who asked to remain anonymous told Fox News. “I’ve heard the talk but I doubt it’s true,” another said. “My bet is, he drops if he believes there’s no way to win.” ....

[quote] The Trump campaign adamantly denied that the president would drop out of the race and criticized polling for allegedly under-sampling Republican voters.

[quote] “This is the granddaddy of fake news,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told Fox News. “Everyone knows that media polling has always been wrong about President Trump - they undersample Republicans and don’t screen for likely voters - in order to set false narratives. It won’t work. There was similar fretting in 2016 and if it had been accurate, Hillary Clinton would be in the White House right now.” ....

So, they're not sure what he's going to do, either.

Sounds like at least some of them are praying he falls over dead on the golf course in the next week or so, too.

Maybe there will be a Senator's Plot like the General's Plot that tried to take down the Führer

r21 I've met more than a few shy Trump voters. Meaning people I know who understand its not worth freely sharing that they voted for him or the arguments it would cause in their social circle...and it takes a few direct questions for them to admit it. In a few cases, their wives dont know. They don't post on facebook about him. But they all watch Fox News.

Never underestimate the number of people who secretly support Trump. I live in a deeply democratic area and I know ( and know of) numerous gay men who fully support Trump.

Anyone who doesn't believe in shy voters -- just look up "The Bradley Effect."

Oh please.

This might be the topic of the golf play conversation Lindsey and he had over the weekend.

I won't be shocked if he decides to do so. Everything he's done this month indicates he really just does not want to get re-elected.

He needs to complete his mission of destroying the country for his foreign benefactors.

re: "shy voters" - I'll let Peggy Noonan handle this one:

[quote] I believe in the phenomenon of silent Trump voters, people who don’t tell anyone, including pollsters, that they’re for him because they don’t want to be hassled. But eight, 10 or 14 points worth? No.

I think he would have quit a long time ago but was told he didn't have permission.

Even “shy voters” know Trump is on a huge downward slide.

I wish that graphic from a few weeks ago would become yard signs.

R53 - I agree. He doesn't need to resign formally - he can do so informally by not fighting terribly hard and just going through the motions.

The BLM stuff will, as it always does (cf. Occupy Wall Street and other periodic upheavals), fade as it never goes on forever, the pandemic will resurface causing more panic and angst, the government is going to have to figure out how to print more money without turning into Germany in the late 1920s early 1930s in order to stave off full scale revolt by the peasants as reopening the economy simply restarts the pandemic . . .

Even if Biden wins, things have changed permanently because of the pandemic and climate change. My guess is, Trump will be relieved to not have to try to pretend to be Vladimir Putin any longer, let alone an effective world leader.

So, yes, I think he's in the process of resigning now, he just isn't calling it that.

Regardless of how Trump leaves, whether he's voted out, resigns or forced to resign, once the dust settles, there needs to be Nuremberg type trials where his enablers and supporters are paraded in front of a tribunal on a daily basis and interrogated about their support for Trump the dirtball. Of course, this should include the big fish like McConnell and Senatrice, but the piss ant supporters and enablers like Devon Nunez, Gym Jordan, Tom Cotton and all the other Republican effluvia who allowed this unmitigated disaster to happen. I am against capital punishment but I will make exceptions in these cases.

What we need to have happen is an unprecedented victory for Biden, where he wins all 50 states and people like McTurtle and Lady G lose their seats.

That will put an end to Trumpism once and for all and the people R108 mentioned will fade into obscurity--no need to make martyrs out of them.

I think the SCOTUS decision on keeping the federal death penalty could work out very nicely for the Left after Trump and his enablers have left the building.

"that will put an end to Trumpism once and for all and the people [R108] mentioned will fade into obscurity--no need to make martyrs out of them."

Sorry, not buying it. After Watergate, they bounced back like the cock roaches they are and 5 years later they're back in the White House and Congress. Like the Nazis after WWII, they must be eradicated once and for all. If capital punishment is too rich for your blood, then forbid them from holding any kind of electoral office or from voting ever again.

Good post r107, but I would caution you on counting out BLM. I agree it is fading but in this case it only takes one racist incident by law enforcement to reignite fervour. In all likelihood there will be more than one such incident.

[quote] In all likelihood there will be more than one such incident.

They want war.

It will happen intentionally.

[quote] After Watergate, they bounced back like the cock roaches they are

No one associated with Watergate "bounced back"

The net result seems to have been that the more moderate GOP was made irrelevant and the more conservative Reagan wing took over.

Nixon would be a moderate Democrat by today's standards.

[quote]Like the Nazis after WWII, they must be eradicated once and for all.

This never even happened.

R114, in fairness, just as today’s Republican Party is unrecognizable by the standards of the early ‘70s, the same is true of today’s Democratic Party.

Trump is such a lazy slacker. I fully believe that Putin won't allow him to quit early. Otherwise he would have left long time ago.

Putin will be glad to be rid of him, if he can find someone even more compliant. Trump is not discreet. Trump is too needy. Trump doesn't understand enough about government to make sure Putin gets what he needs from him and Trump has alienated our allies so much that he can't even finesse shit from them. Also Trump is a fucking whore. He is cutting side deals right and left with the Saudis, with China, and with anyone else he can bully. At some point, since the old whore is for sale, someone will outbid Vlad. Putin's big problem, is who can he reasonably put in Trump's place? because he is not going to walk away from this prize. So we need to less focused on the Loser Clown at center stage and start speculating about who will replace Trump.

When the going gets tough, the tough...declare bankruptcy! Nah.

When push comes to shove, the ready claim...Bone Spurs! Hmmmm...uh-uh.

When the chips are down, the winner whines: "FAKE NEWS"! No, again.

Anyone here remember Reagan? As I recall, within a short time after Reagan left office, he and Nancy made a trip to Japan for a speaking engagement and he was paid a ridiculous amount of money. Like $2 Million. And there was speculation it was a pay off for some arrangement with Japan.

Any chance Putin is done with Trump and he's the one who leaked the bounty hunter story?

Dreaming is free.

No.,, I think our military leaked it. Interesting that Trump so far hasn't been ranting about leaks. He is calling it a hoax, calling it fake news, but no leaks. I think that's because if he says it was a leak he is confirming it is true.