Oink

The rise of the Trump phenomenon is because people feel uncertain about the future. They are uncertain about their jobs, security, crime, education etc. So within a world of a perceived threat everywhere, from the chaos in the Middle East, ISIS, economic threat of China and the Black Lives Matter movement, a lot of people are looking for a strong man, someone who has the courage, boldness and ambition to solve these issues/concerns. Someone who claims to have the answers. So, the public is willing to exchange their freedom and autonomy for security and certainty. Trump is essentially saying, give me the power and I alone will take the responsibility of your future. It’s no wonder these days that this sort of message is appealing.

magnumpi

Stranger things have happened, Boris Bam Bam Johnson for mayor being one

Tangram

So basically like the excellent BBC series The Nazis: A Warning From History

caretaker

A load of tripe imo, the dull-normal vote is just far larger than anyone expected, and the GOP couldn't come up with one single decent candidate so the freak got in. Same reason we had Harper so long, no good alternative choices.

Oink

I disagree, you find this willingness to elect a "strong man" in many societies today. It’s definitely not a one off because the Republicans couldn't be arsed to come up with a "decent candidate." For civil society to function we need two things, freedom and security. Freedom without security and you have chaos, security without freedom and you have slavery. So in civil society we trade some of one for some of the other. In times when we live in more fear, we are willing to give up more freedom for more security. This fear is not the immediate and concrete type of fear of the old days, such as wolves or tigers trying to eat you or the Luftwaffe dropping bombs on your head, but today its more of an amorphous and fluid fear, fear of immigrants or fear of terrorism, for example, so we want someone who professes to able to fix it all, easily.

caretaker

No, I disagree. Other than bad opponents I see no rational excuse for the man's nomination other than sensationalism and bigotry and the culture of victimhood (not to be confused with genuine oppression), and if by some accident he becomes president, (and I've been consistently wrong about elections for the past few years), that is when we and our neighbours could find ourselves in trouble. I couldn't believe it when Cruz and Rubio started talking, (I knew what to expect from Christie), and thought c'mon, out of all those millions of people..... Trump's a dick with a lot of money, not a strongman.

bats

His presence just allows people to voice their long held opinions. The undecideds and fence sitters see that they have strength in numbers so they move from trying to be a decent human being to allowing their bigoted, scared, selfish nature free rein.

Right wing people like to be bossed around and told what to think. He gives them someone else to blame for their problems, lets them coat it all in slep righteousness.

He'll probably get in.

caretaker

Hear that rattling noise? Lincoln's bones spinning in his grave. the most famous Republican got into politics on the votes of German immigrants he defended against prejudice, bought them a press when theirs was thrown in the river. Organising against Eastern European immigrants was one of the selling points of KKK membership in Canada during the depression, but this was in the days of Empire, and nothing to be proud of. Oink I see the mechanics of your reasoning that people flock because they're afraid, but there's no way anyone who isn't "thick" is looking at Trump and seeing security there. Do you think you'd like to drink with him?

magnumpi

So it's looking like Trump has paid zero taxes over the years, genius or wan@@r, the voters will decide I guess, I have mixed feelings.

1.Why is it possible a millionaire property tycoon can get away with paying no tax? Who is in charge of the tax laws and why are there these loopholes for the rich and penalties given out for the rest of the population

2. I am jealous he paid no tax there fore he is a wamkrer !!

BristolUK

Friends in high places. Supporters/donors being rewarded.

Did you really need to ask?

dbd33

Western tax systems are always regressive, if you can afford the lawyers and accountants and offshore companies and whatnot, you pay no tax. If you don't have that kind of money you have to make do with a Nevada or Delaware corporation and pay some tax. If you don't have enough money to have a corporation at all, you pay a lot of tax.

The offensive thing about Trump in this regard is not that he cheats on his taxes but that he's failed to disclose his tax returns.

caretaker

I thought he lost almost a billion so that's why his taxes were nullified for a long time.

dbd33

Income taxes don't work like that. If my Dad gives me a pile of money today and I lose it and then tomorrow someone pays me to be orange on television, the government still wants a chunk of the orange money. I can't write off the Dad losses against the orange money. I, personally, might have both sets of money flow through some dodgy assemblage of corporations so as to be able to do some writing off but I personally wouldn't run for President.

I think, in the end, the Trump story will be one of hubris. Clinton will beat him, tax, embargo, immigration and trust illegalities will emerge and he'll get nothing but grief from his run. Well deserved grief.

caretaker

Loopholes? It isn't like I actually paid attention to it when I saw/heard it. Trump U looks dirty since the scandal but like he said he gets audited all the time... the whole thing is so surreal to me that him getting bounced for fraud is way too much to hope for. To my mind him getting elected could be a greater disaster than if the millennium meltdown had actually happened in 2000. Trade goes into a tailspin here if a cow or chicken gets sick, what do you think would happen if a madman was elected president?

macadian

Something to look forward too...