With the first Republican presidential debate behind us, surely it’s safe to say that there were no indications that anyone on the stage was likely to approach — let alone surpass — Donald Trump in next year’s primaries. Meanwhile, in Georgia, the former President turns himself in for the most epic mugshot in history, further emphasizing how far ahead of the pack he is. Did he make a tactical — or moral — mistake by refusing to take part in the debates at all?
Join our crack team of elite anti-elitists by becoming a member or making a one-time donation right here:
https://billwhittlecom.wpenginepowered.com/register/
34 replies on “In the Shadow of Trump”
In hindsight, Trump made the right decision. Televised debates aren’t “the process,” it’s a Kabuki setup by the Left and the Swamp to push their agenda. Donald Trump is a danger to the Swamp. His only failing as sitting President was that his intention was to drain the Swamp — he didn’t realize it’s ALL swamp, all the way down.
He’s a businessman, not a politician, and that’s what makes him great. He just pulled an epic, art of the deal business move: don’t reduce yourself to the little peoples’ level. Show yourself in the superior position.
None of the other candidates have been holding rallies across the nation for the last two years. So, they need to become known. Trump is already known.
I suspect he will attend some of the latter ones once they get out of the control of Fox News.
How they allow the likes of Chris Christie on the stage is beyond me. He’s a four time loser already, and his only value is if you want a bridge closed somewhere.
NO candidate can have a breakout moment because the best they can do is parody Trump’s policies. Those policies work, and to suggest anything else is suicide.
I have NEVER been a big Trump fan. Not until he was our president. He did lots of good stuff- unexpectedly. So, I’ll always support him, but he’s still a bit of a jerk- but he’s the kind of jerk we need. Somebody who takes no prisoners.
Bill’s “New Coke” analogy is the same thing I’ve been saying about every Windows release beyond XP…
Trump needs to say “sure, I’m watching the debate. I need a VP… and it’s not going to be you, Mike.”
Biden cannot successfully debate Trump and so that will never happen. We know it, but more importantly Biden’s handlers (those who actually rule the Executive Branch) know it all too well!
Biden Trump, Trump biden. Doesn’t matter one way or another, the candidates who get in the final run will be the parties selected, just like always. The ONLY upset possible is if Trump so overwhelmingly wins primary the party, in a move of self preservation and sanity, jumps on board his train.
Biden. Who cares. If he’s there the party will “find” enough “lost or missing” votes to put him back in the WH.. Trump MUST win by such an overwhelming number, and I DON’T mean “red wave,” there can be no dispute, no questions, no doubt.
Holy CRAP Bill! You dare say anything negative or in the least bit critical of Donald Trump? You’re hosed, Bro. There are a whole bunch of people in here that think Donald John Trump is second only to Jesus of Nazareth and you just criticized their little tin god.
That’s not permitted, those people think Donald Trump is perfect and infallible and you dared to suggest His Majesty the Donald could benefit from constructive criticism.
Scott and Steve are treading on thin ice too. Scott’s already been accused of being a “never Trumper” more than once for exactly that sort of heinous sin against the Savior Trump.
Woe unto you, Sober* Men of Great Wisdom, you court your own doom. And …
Bravo to you all for your clear eyed view of the situation.
(*Ok, well in Steve’s case maybe not totally always completely 100% sober but the rest applies.)
My name is Harry Ferguson, and i approve of Bill’s and ACTS reservations about Trump.
And yet I will vote for him if he’s the nominee. He is better than any Democrat that may get the nomination. But don’t want him to be the nominee, nor will i vote for him in the primary.
I think quite a few people here could give Trump good advice on many subjects. But don’t think he would listen.
Oh if he gets the nomination I’ll definitely vote for him. Even though in my not so humble opinion he’s far from anything that could be called a ‘great president’. It’s sad that the bar has gotten so low that if he’s nominated he’d still be the best choice by far.
I think a lot of people that are head-over-heels Trumpazoids love him because he gives the middle finger to his enemies. Sometimes Trump’s enemies and the Trumpazoids enemies are similar or the same. That’s a piss poor, petty, vengeful, short-sighted way to choose the leader of the free world. It’s not at all surprising that a piss poor, petty, vengeful, short-sighted man would appeal to piss poor, petty, vengeful, short-sighted voters.
Worse yet, Trump isn’t particularly good at his middle finger flashing. He doesn’t come off as intelligent, superior or even condescending to the lesser minds of his enemies. His insults are more on the line of “You have a stinky butt”, “Oh yeah? Well your butt is stinkier than mine isi!”
Kind of pathetic in my view.
Then there are those Trump supporters that are reasonably not piss poor, petty, vengeful, short-sighted types. They’re the “Rah, Rah, sis boom bah!” cheerleader types who treat the future of our nation as though it were some sort of rivalry between sports teams. The type that adopt a team as “theirs” and stick by it win or lose, thick or thin. Because it’s “their team and they are loyal to their team”. Surprisingly, intelligent people adopt this amazingly stupid view.
I’m on Team America not Team Trump and I’m fiercely loyal to my team. A lot of people mistakenly think Team America is the same as the Trump Team. It’s not though, Trump’s on the Donald Trump Team and if you’re not, you can just suck wind and pound sand.
I notice that conservatives often deride the Left for appealing to base emotions instead of reasoning, logic and facts. Yet I don’t see anyone, even the Trumpazoids in here, willing to argue why Trump is the best man for the job of POTUS. They’re all for Trump on the same emotional level they condemn the Left for.
So there’s a third type who blindly support Donald Trump. They’re like Leftists who when you give them the facts and figures on Second Amendment issues just say “Whatever, I just don’t like guns.” Except they’re nominal conservatives who say “I don’t care, I like Trump.”
I’d be more than happy to argue my side of this issue but I don’t get any takers. So …
It still remains to be seen if he’s going to get the nomination. Polls are pretty much useless now. They’ve gotten to the point where people only cite them if they bolster their confirmation bias or want to discourage their adversaries. If we were going to go by the polls Hillary would be on her second term right this minute.
Provided he gets the nomination I’ll hold my nose and vote for him for a third time but this is the last time. If he ever again runs for any office that I can vote for, I’m not voting for him after this under any circumstances.
I had a realization. I agree with the Trump is on Trump’s team comment and thought a better analogy for him would be a star sports player. Quarterback for football, or anything for basketball, doesn’t work as much for baseball. The prima dona type players that are just amazingly good and after a few years let the fame go to their heads. Start making demands of the coach or manager to trade for a particular player. Wanting to get the best team this year to get a ring and do not consider the mortgage the team would be stuck with in the next 2-5 years. A certain new Jet comes to mind.
As long as the player can work with the team, things tend to go well. When there are perceived problems the sulks, protests, interviews with the media start, and everyone else gets blamed. Trump’s behavior, especially sniping at Desantis before he was even a candidate, make me not want to vote for Trump in the primary.
I’m no fan of ball sports so I’ll have to take your word for what makes a better analogy. If that works for you that’s fine with me.
I was athletic in my youth but I didn’t play ball sports. I ran track and wrestled. I never saw the point in chasing a ball around. I never saw any point in watching others chase a ball around even more. In wrestling you physically subdue your opponent and in track you strive to reach a place before others. Both useful things when applied to real life. Both classic athleticism.
I don’t have anything against ball sports (hockey just uses a cylinder instead of a sphere, it’s a ball sport) as such or people that keep up with them. I do find it curious how some people seem obsessed with their sport or team, especially the team thing. To me it’s all mock warfare and having experienced the real thing I remain unimpressed with the ersatz. Conversely I know a lot of other military people who have experienced the real thing and still love their ball sports.
Alas, just one more difference between me and my peers but it’s not a prime mover.
I think that a bread and circuses environment/mentality can be a less than positive social influence. I often hear arguments in support of public ball sports to the effect of “it builds character” and “it instills a disposition for teamwork”, stuff like that. Those things are probably true but it also instills a warrior’s do-or-die mentality without the stakes of actual combat.
My point here is that a real warrior has to perform to his best or he gets himself and his buddies greased. This is a permanent, traumatic, dramatic thing. Mess up a ‘play’ and you don’t get to try again after the next goal. He has to think on his feet, we say; “adapt, improvise, overcome”. The smarter you are and the smarter you act the greater your likelihood of surviving. Yet there’s still an element of random chaos. We say “You don’t have to worry about the bullet with your name on it. You have to worry about the one addressed ‘to whom it may concern’.” And BTW, Murphy is a female ’cause she’s a real Class A bitch.
This state does not exist in the mock warfare of ball sports but the mentality persists to “do or die” even when following a poor leader into needless hazard. Out of team loyalty. For this sort of person if you’re not loyal to their team you’re the enemy. This kind of thinking is absurd. Ball sports and ball teams are trivial matters. Turning everything into a team sport any applying those values is equally absurd, it’s a form of tribalism.
How absurd? I.E. there’s a guy in here at BWC that because he thinks I’m not on his ‘team’ I’m his enemy and he makes assumptions about me that are nearly always wrong. He doesn’t know that but I know me and I know that. This is the mark of someone who thinks in ball sports terms and applies those principles where they do not obtain. It doesn’t matter if he’s a ball sports fan, he thinks like one that cannot grow past that mentality. Being as I’m not on Team Trump he accuses me of all manner of ridiculous things that just aren’t true.
His assumption is that Team Trump is the best possible team and so anyone not on that team must be guilty of the absurd accusations he levels. That’s really, seriously, truly a dumb way to think.
I see this as a problem when it comes to people like Donald Trump. My experiences are considerably more emphatic than the average citizen’s and I do not see any politician under any circumstances as being worthy of unquestioning loyalty. That critter is never going to be born.
My loyalty is solely to the United States of America. Team Marine Corp is merely a subdivision of Team America. The motto “Semper Fidelis” doesn’t mean “Always Faithful to the Marine Corps” it means “Always Faithful to America and the oath you swore”. BTW, “Semper Fidelis” is much more than a motto, it’s a way of life.
So I’m not blinded or even influenced by some misguided loyalty to one man, one Service or one party because I’m not loyal to those lesser entities. I’m a loyal Marine only insofar as the Marine Corps is loyal to America. I see, or at least try hard to see, things as objectively as I can in the light of what’s good for America.
Donald Trump is not wholly good for America. He’s a sugar rush and the sugar crash is coming. If he’s all I can get, I’ll take him but there are definitely better choices.
Opposing Sober Wisdom you have Vino Veritas, so maybe Steve’s case is he is free to speak the truth.
So, Truth, Wisdom… what would be the third of the triad?
Candor? The first two only benefit fellow man if you are free to communicate and do so in an honest and straightforward manner.
Gratefulness
I don’t understand. There’s no way Joe is running for president. Of course, I didn’t think they’d run that potted plant last time. And he “won”, with 10 million more votes than the “light-bringer” Obama. ;-). There’s a TV blitz of ads for Biden for President in my area going on right now. I don’t understand. Is the bench of potential candidates really that low on the Dems side?
Trump is right that he doesn’t need to debate. Scott’s “Too much lipstick on his ass” comment rings true. But it robs us of any chance for Biden to debate Trump. Comparing their records while in the office would be comical if not for the whole pro abortion faction – single, college educated white women – who nearly single-handedly ruined the mid-terms. They will again lose their minds, frantically defending their right to kill babies up to the time of birth, the media shaming anyone who doesn’t understand a women’s right to choose.
I think they’re going to run Biden again. With the private, unaired attitude that he’s a disposable President. What intrigues me is what they’re going to do about Kacklin’ Kammy the Kamel Nosed Kook.
There’s no way the hard corps core of the Democrat Party want her as POTUS. It’s not that she’s not pliable and moldable, it’s that she would be a loose cannon on the gun deck if she got that kind of power.
She would be as likely as not to say “I’m the President, the first Black Woman President, and I can do whatever the hell I want to so piss off.”.
That would sink the Democrat Party and the powers behind the party know that. If they mean to dispose of Banana Joey they’re going to have to come up with a more reliable choice for VP. “Reliable” as in someone that they can control at least as well as Joe.
If that happens it would be de facto confirmation that my suspicions are correct.
Remember, they attempted a ‘soft coup’ during the entire Trump presidency. It WAS a coup attempt no matter how you look at it. A coup that was largely successful and thanks to a corrupt media continues to gain momentum.
There are powerful people steering the Democrat Party. Biden is nothing but a sycophant to the unelected committee who are manipulating him. These people are not at all above a significant and dangerous degree of subterfuge and skullduggery to gain a power lock on the United States of America.
A friend of mine who works for DOD told me last night that they got a warning notice that masks and all that shit are coming back soon. There’s some “new” COVID strain that they’re using as an excuse for this. Just in time for the election cycle to get underway and provide excuses for mail-in balloting, ballot harvesting, and all the other crap that worked so well for them last time.
The other side is not going to give up on a strategy that worked for them unless they’re forced to. The only way to force them open to us at this time is to win political power. If we can’t do that because they not only put their thumb on the scale but park a truck on it we’re not going to be able to do much but bitch.
Until of course even that is take away from the American people.
I happened to see a pro-Biden ad at a customer’s house today (they had MSNBC on) and they’re probably just prop up ads to improve the Dem’s poll numbers generally, not to support him against another candidate, except the Generic Republican, I suspect. The ad I saw was listing Republican generic actions, not any particular candidates, similar to the “they want to push granny off the cliff” but without being as hyperbolic.
Oh, your opening sounded like the game Mystery Mansion. 8>)
I thought Tulsi had that Breakout Moment against Kamala in the debates….but the DNC felt otherwise. Also, Kamala’s dig at Biden being a racist didn’t hurt her chances for VP
Joe isn’t going to be the Democrat nominee. Joe is going to get replaced like worn out pair of socks.
The decision that politicians are wiser, kinder and more honest than we are and that they, not we, should control the dispensation of eleemosynary goods and services is, in itself, a diminishment of the individual and proof that we’re jerks. —P.J. O’Rourke
Blame those who vote because of fear, treasuring security over freedom. Seeking moral guidance from the criminals in the White House proves that they value being taken care of by hoodlums rather having faith in God.
I didn’t see any US flags during the debate.
Joe Biden, “I’m not going to debate Donald Trump, just as he refused to debate his challengers.”
Donald Trump, “Of course Crooked Snoozy isn’t going to debate. He doesn’t know where he is, when he is or even if he is. He couldn’t win a debate against the ham sandwich his DOJ indicts for following the law.”
The governor of North Dakota surprised me. He was thoughtful, well spoken, dignified. To me, he stood out. He was a nobody and I still don’t know his name, but I will have my eyes open for him. But right now Mr. Ramaswamy has my devoted attentiion!
If the 8 on the stage really want to counter Trump’s record, perhaps they should start with the issues raised by Scott Morefield in 2021:
https://townhall.com/columnists/scottmorefield/2021/05/10/for-the-good-of-the-country-donald-trump-should-pass-the-torch-n2589185
For the Good of the Country, Donald Trump Should Pass the Torch
Scott Morefield Posted: May 10, 2021 12:01 AM
https://townhall.com/columnists/scottmorefield/2021/07/19/four-things-trump-could-do-to-win-back-my-support-n2592705
Four Things Trump Could Do to Win Back My Support [actually 5 things]
Scott Morefield Posted: Jul 19, 2021 12:01 AM
I may be mistaken, but I think I just saw the “lipstick” transfer from Scott’s lips to DJT’s … uh … er …. Well, if that is what DJT’s concerned with on the debate stage, then that reinforces my aversion to voting for him in the Primary.
Gentlemen, this episode should have been posted before the debate… That said, I’ll weigh in.
I get Bill’s point about Trump’s absence being “unseemly” because of traditional norms, but tradition itself has become unseemly in this wild new era of Screw Everything, hasn’t it? How will it help if we are the only ones playing by the rules? I get that we shouldn’t all devolve into animals, but what is the alternative?
I am not sure the video could have been posted before the debates, as they record these on Tuesday, Bill has to edit them, and post the backstage on Wednesday, which means Thursday at the earliest.
On fighting by the rules… when it comes to the general, yes pitch the book out the window. While we’re picking the champion for our own side, we can all follow our own rules. I would put it as a moral mistake for Trump not to be there, as Bill said, since that is what we have done. On the other hand, this is a unique situation with an incumbent that isn’t, challengers that are so far behind in the polling they almost do not count, and the deck otherwise stacked against various options.
In the end, Trump not being there does let the candidates debate amongst themselves and let us get a better chance to learn about them, should we want to make a different choice, and with the poling as it is, I don’t have much of an issue with him not being there. That and I think these debates are nothing of the sort and a poor way to learn about the candidates’ positions (and without cable, I could not watch this one anyway).
Thank you Karl, I hadn’t considered their schedules… Also, thank you for taking time to reply to my post. I agree the debates are imperfect vessels at best, and Trump’s absence did allow the others a chance to do something besides tear into him. You didn’t miss much; they could have made better use of the opportunity, but that’s almost always the case (:
No guys; you miss the critical point.
I will vote for Trump or any other Republican (mostly with reluctance).
I support DeSantis.
The problem with Trump is that he would make a LOUSY President. All those who brought him down the last time will be back. Trump will obsess. Many Republicans will not support him (as in the last time around). He appears unfocused on the future.
We are facing real problems- we need a President who has a proven record of standing his ground for what he believes in and fighting back.
DeSantis, and I disagree with his Ukrainian policy 100%, is the only one who fits the bill.
Trump did 95% great; his time is past.
I agree DJT is not the good choice due to his inherent divisiveness; however, I won’t vote for Desantis in the primary. The need for political experience is overblown by so many voters. What is needed is integrity and a willingness to unabashedly-fight for what is the right thing on many fronts. Vivek seems to have both of those core attributes, and his youth and vigor for the US Constitution is are boons to his prospects for such fighting.
But Ramasawami is not wise. He tends to shoot his mouth off at times and has not proven himself in anything (so far) other than self-promotion. What has he actually done other than make lots of money? Seriously.
How has DeSantis not shown the qualities that you rightly mention in your penultimate sentience?
If you say so. I don’t see that.
BAH! Aside from possibly Washington, what past President has ever been “proven” for the role until he’s been given it? IMO, that is a useless metric for the role of POTUS. For crying’ out loud, DJT did a good job as POTUS in spite of his divisive personality flaws, and, aside from the frivolousness of The Apprentice, he had no political experience whatsoever prior to being elected.
I said nothing that would indicate that Desantis does not have the qualities that I mentioned; however, my most recent impression of the Governor is one of appeasement to the status quo and/or the popular — consider his hesitancy, when the panel was asked to indicate a willingness to pardon DJT of any conviction from the ongoing attacks from the weaponized legal system. Sometimes any hesitancy to do/say the right thing is an indication of weakness, and enemies of the State will recognize and leverage such weakness.
Am I right? I don’t really know, but all differing opinions are just that … opinions. This is an expression of my opinions and impressions of the two candidates. Nothing more.
David. Please remember that we are on the same side here. I voted for Trump twice and will vote for him again.
As to Mr. R’s wisdom see for example where advised siding with Taiwan just until we achieved semiconductor sufficiency (whatever that is ) at which point we’d revert to a more neutral position in that dispute. How does that show wisdom?
I just do not see him ready for primetime. What has he ever done in an executive capacity? Is he ready to do battle with the deeply intrenched Deep State? No one may be ready; he certainly hasn’t shown that he is.
Your concerns about DeSantis are over wrought. I live in Florida; I lived through the Chinese Flu nonsense and trust me, DeSantis proved himself as one who took a stand (against most received opinion), kept the governmental departments in line, carefully explained his position to the populace, and was proven correct. He has done that several times.
As to his hesitancy at the debate- I hear the lawyer speaking. There is the remotest chance that one of the charges laid against Trump may be valid. I say this since no lawyer ever says never. If so a pardon may not be warranted. I have no doubt that all of the charges against him are politically motivated and at best legally dubious but we’re dealing with DeSantis as a lawyer here.
Bottom line: we’re in the same foxhole; fighting the good fight. I just have a less rosy view of Mr. R than you do. Time will tell.
The perfect is the enemy of the good.