The U.S. Presidential Election (topical thread)

[Alan V]

This bit of information is for those who think, for whatever reasons, that Trump will obviously beat Biden:

CNN

Poll of the week: A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump 52% to 43% in a general election matchup.

An average of all polls this month puts Biden's advantage at a similar 7 points.

What's the point: For all intents and purposes, the general election campaign is underway. Yes, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is still running, but he has no realistic path to winning the Democratic nomination. That means that it's Biden vs. Trump.

And the President starts out in a very unusual place for an incumbent: behind. Trump is the first incumbent president to be trailing at this point in the general election cycle (i.e. late March in the election year) since Harry Truman in 1948.

This also means that Biden does not have to move left at this point. I would interpret his willingness to do so as a matter of principle rather than cynical politics. He wants to unite the Democratic Party.

[Dom]

Yep, time for a thread on the actual election, I don't see any way that it's going to be anything but Biden and trump from here on out.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Wait until Trump's ads against Biden start. The numbers will have more meaning then.

[skyking]

This virus adds a layer of uncertainty in there. I hope Biden is doing better than Trump in this regard.

[Alan V]

Wait until Trump's ads against Biden start. The numbers will have more meaning then.

True, but personally I'm waiting for Bloomberg's ads against Trump.  

[Alan V]

This virus adds a layer of uncertainty in there. I hope Biden is doing better than Trump in this regard.

Covid-19 is a no-win situation for Trump.  Since he made too many mistakes at the beginning, any alarming numbers of deaths in the U.S. plus the tanking stock markets will be at least partially attributed to him.  Without a strong economy, he barely has a leg left to stand on except for the mere fact that he's a Republican.

[skyking]

I'm strictly speaking to his personal health, Alan. Trump is typical in his non-presidential behavior. There's no need to use the same podium and stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity several times a day. he's an irresponsible fool.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Wait until Trump's ads against Biden start. The numbers will have more meaning then.

True, but personally I'm waiting for Bloomberg's ads against Trump.  

Here's hoping they're good ...

[Dancefortwo]

Idiot in cheif was calling it the Chinese virus and claiming it wasn't a racists slur. Okie-dokie.  Welp, since he doesn't have any problem with that I think we should all start calling it the Trump Virus.

So from now on it's the Trump virus.     

Just sayin.

[no one]

[Aegon]

Polling at this point is meaningless to me. All that matters is where we are in November with COVID and how people think Trump handled it.

[Minimalist]

By November the Trump Depression will be all that matters.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Polling at this point is meaningless to me. All that matters is where we are in November with COVID and how people think Trump handled it.

We will be dealing with the economic fallout for months after we stop registering new cases here in America. Months.

If Trump does indeed lose, when the evangelicals complain that it was only because of the Covid recession, we can easily tell them that God voted against Trump.

[Dom]

Polling at this point is meaningless to me. All that matters is where we are in November with COVID and how people think Trump handled it.

We will be dealing with the economic fallout for months after we stop registering new cases here in America. Months.

If Trump does indeed lose, when the evangelicals complain that it was only because of the Covid recession, we can easily tell them that God voted against Trump.

The way he guards his own health, that vote of god may become a whole lot more obvious...

[Alan V]

I'm strictly speaking to his personal health, Alan. Trump is typical in his non-presidential behavior. There's no need to use the same podium and stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity several times a day. he's an irresponsible fool.

It would indeed be ironic, after all the political battles, if Trump simply died from his own ignorance.  

[skyking]

It is a real possibility with that moran, and that's why I say this election is not all that firm. It could be between also-rans

[SYZ]

Trump talks himself up as "wartime president" to lead America through a crisis.  

Steve Bannon, a former White House chief strategist, said: "We are at war, and
now by necessity he is a ‘wartime’ president. Churchill rose to the occasion and
secured his place in history. Trump’s moment is here, to grasp or to lose".

                              

[Thumpalumpacus]

Trump talks himself up as "wartime president" to lead America through a crisis.  

Steve Bannon, a former White House chief strategist, said: "We are at war, and
now by necessity he is a ‘wartime’ president. Churchill rose to the occasion and
secured his place in history. Trump’s moment is here, to grasp or to lose".

                              

I'm afraid he'll regret those words.

[Dom]

Trump talks himself up as "wartime president" to lead America through a crisis.  

Steve Bannon, a former White House chief strategist, said: "We are at war, and
now by necessity he is a ‘wartime’ president. Churchill rose to the occasion and
secured his place in history. Trump’s moment is here, to grasp or to lose".

                              

I'm afraid he'll regret those words.

I think it possible, even likely, that trump will choose not to act until lots of people have died and the economy is in total disarray, and then impose marshal law and take over the government. He doesn't care about damage, he cares about power and self aggrandizement. He's not worried about the virus, he is trying to figure out how to best benefit from it.

[Alan V]

I think it possible, even likely, that trump will choose not to act until lots of people have died and the economy is in total disarray, and then impose marshal law and take over the government. He doesn't care about damage, he cares about power and self aggrandizement. He's not worried about the virus, he is trying to figure out how to best benefit from it.

This is one of those emergencies which requires scientific literacy, foresight, empathy, and planning abilities -- none of which Trump has.  He responds moment-to-moment, and so will forever remain behind the curve of developments.  It's a good thing other leaders have those qualities, especially on a state level.  So I would assume the federal government will remain largely feckless while the states do all the heavy lifting.

This will help Biden and the Democratic message that big government can work effectively for people.

CNN

[mordant]

There will be a LOT of really turgid water under the bridge between now and November. Trump has no ethics and no empathy and no shame, so he will do his best to leverage the pandemic to his advantage. Polls do not mean a whole lot in this environment. But -- they're not nothing. Let us hope you are correct, Alan. Circumstance may hand us the gift of a victory we haven't really earned or positioned ourselves to take maximum advantage of, and by exposing the systemic rot for what it is, it may even gift us with some general enlightenment.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Trump talks himself up as "wartime president" to lead America through a crisis.  

Steve Bannon, a former White House chief strategist, said: "We are at war, and
now by necessity he is a ‘wartime’ president. Churchill rose to the occasion and
secured his place in history. Trump’s moment is here, to grasp or to lose".

                              

I'm afraid he'll regret those words.

I think it possible, even likely, that trump will choose not to act until lots of people have died and the economy is in total disarray, and then impose marshal law and take over the government. He doesn't care about damage, he cares about power and self aggrandizement. He's not worried about the virus, he is trying to figure out how to best benefit from it.

That's possible but I don't think that's how it will pan out. There's been a change in his tone over the last week that indicates to me he's afraid for his re-election prospects in the growth of this pandemic, and dialing back his idiotic optimism of even two weeks ago. This is just a gut feeling of mine, but there's less bravado in his comportment, he's more subdued.

[Thumpalumpacus]

This will help Biden and the Democratic message that big government can work effectively for people.

I think once all is said and done, the people will be actively asking for more governmental involvement in things like health care. I guess we'll have to see how many uninsured die before we can really say.

[Dom]

I'm afraid he'll regret those words.

I think it possible, even likely, that trump will choose not to act until lots of people have died and the economy is in total disarray, and then impose marshal law and take over the government. He doesn't care about damage, he cares about power and self aggrandizement. He's not worried about the virus, he is trying to figure out how to best benefit from it.

That's possible but I don't think that's how it will pan out. There's been a change in his tone over the last week that indicates to me he's afraid for his re-election prospects in the growth of this pandemic, and dialing back his idiotic optimism of even two weeks ago. This is just a gut feeling of mine, but there's less bravado in his comportment, he's more subdued.

I think this is due to his being forced to tolerate opinions other than his own, even at the press conferences, but most definitely behind the scenes, too. He hates that.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I think it possible, even likely, that trump will choose not to act until lots of people have died and the economy is in total disarray, and then impose marshal law and take over the government. He doesn't care about damage, he cares about power and self aggrandizement. He's not worried about the virus, he is trying to figure out how to best benefit from it.

That's possible but I don't think that's how it will pan out. There's been a change in his tone over the last week that indicates to me he's afraid for his re-election prospects in the growth of this pandemic, and dialing back his idiotic optimism of even two weeks ago. This is just a gut feeling of mine, but there's less bravado in his comportment, he's more subdued.

I think this is due to his being forced to tolerate opinions other than his own, even at the press conferences, but most definitely behind the scenes, too. He hates that.

Indeed. And I think he wants as well to supply his narcissism with the idea that people actually voted for him, that he didn't have to seize power.

He'd need an awful lot of support to seize power off the declaration of martial law. I don't think he will get that sort of support.