Shard

Serious question.

As with many others, I find Donald getting more and more ludicrous by the day (hour?). And yet, he does seem to have a base of 'deplorables' supporting him in the US, and the anti-Hilary brigade.

So, does anyone have any Canadian friends/colleagues that actually think this fool's fool might be an acceptable US leader?

Not looking to trash Trump, but to find out whether some Canadians buy into his bizarre rhetoric.

Former Lancastrian

Sure I will bite and set myself up for ridicule. Why not Trump?
When he announced he was running many gave him no chance of even being electable or becoming the Republican nominee yet here we are just under 2 months away from the vote. He is their Presidential candidate so how do those who gave him no chance feel now?

This is the USA we are talking about so any rational debate on a whole raft of subjects goes out of the window. A population of 350 million plus and they have an electoral system that basically has 2 parties Democrats & Republicans and you pick one. Yes there are the Independents and Libertarian parties who can take votes away from the big 2 but when was the last time they won the White House?

Just sit back and think how many average voters and non voters despise politicians? Who on here will display their love for Harper, Kathleen Wynne, Christy Clark, Maggie Thatcher, Jeremy Corbyn, George W Bush etc etc.
Justin Trudeau became PM with a majority but only received 39.5% of the vote.
Think about it 60% DID NOT vote for him or his party.

Why is the average voter pissed off at times is it because they have been lied to for so many years that voter apathy sets in or they just don't trust politicians of all stripes?

Trump has never been a career politician as such. so is not seen by many as part of the Establishment that produces career politicians. Trump says what he wants be it right or wrong and is kissing no ones ass to get elected. Yes he has made some outrageous statements some obviously a lie but he has also not been politically correct either and you know what some people like that approach.

Is he wrong for saying Lets Make America Great Again? Is he wrong in saying we need to do something about illegal immigration? Is he wrong in saying we need to protect American jobs and stop them being taken away. Is he wrong in saying we need to stop ISIS? The list goes on and guess what some of those American voters agree with him.

Now how he attempts achieves the above would be interesting if he ever became the President but as you say
Seriously are the Americans that dumb enough to vote him in as President?

There is that little part inside me that wants Trump to win to see the worlds reaction and the absolute pandemonium that follows

So Why not Trump

Shard

I imagine many of his supporters think in the same way. Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face I suppose.

Former Lancastrian

Thats one way of looking at it but the other candidate is not exactly inspiring confidence of the American voters is she?

Answer this question

Hypothetically a person is found in Canada who could be a great Prime Minister.
He or she ticks a lot of the boxes that deem a person to be a good leader. That person has never thought about running for office. He/she is now being encouraged to run as a candidate but has never had any political ambition and has no real affiliation to any of the parties. They have a little bit of Conservative, Liberal, NDP and Green party within them. They have excellent rational thoughts about the economy, immigration, the environment, law and order and everything else that matters. This person has no desire to learn French but speaks 3 other languages. Is this a good candidate to become PM knowing that the PM MUST be bilingual and which party would they run for?

not2old

Providing the candidate has any interest in doing this, is not a lawyer or ex lawyer, not a retired Military person or Astronaut. Take a person that comes with their own money & influence without being in everyone elses back pocket, maybe a Mick Jagger type ... gets my vote

Then there are folks such as Kevin O'leary type (mini Donald), zero political experince that WANT to be the head of a political party for financial gain

What if Mike Myers suddenly put forth his ticket, do you reckon folks would vote for him, after all anyone can act the part

UK, I could see Richard Branson making a lot of noise. Would he ever get voted in?

not2old

Without 'as seen on TV', the media interference & influence, if it was back to basics of old fashion politics of pre-1960's, Donald would likely be ahead of the game.

Not knowing anything about American politics or how Wall St or the media impact the outcome, just from what I've seen on TV, I say that Donald Trump mouth & hair are his two worse attributes, followed by the hand wave & sniffing.

Did Trump snort before he last went on the debate?

Going forward, with better hair style & less mouth for the second & third debate, he just may pull it off convincing Americans he can do better than his opponent.

Shard

Not sure what your point is? The hypothetical candidate appears to be good. If bilingualism in French/English is a requirement, that is an issue with system rather than the individual. No relevance to the Trump candidacy.

pdarwin

People want a man of action at the helm and therefore will vote for change. They've had too many years of Obama cruising through his terms without really doing anything effective and there are problems in the country that nobody is sorting out. Trump may not be ideal but if he gets elected he'll shake up politics and get people out of their complacency. Hillary belongs to the old elite and it will mean more of the same bland politics with her in charge. How will she stand up to Putin and the like? Trump will.

Former Lancastrian

The point is supposed to be this person like Trump is not an Establishment type candidate groomed for leadership much like Trump. If you are one of those unemployed auto/steel workers in the rust Belt and listening to Trump then you just might decide to vote for him as they are the kind who are anti establishment and do not like Presidential puppets being elected.

Shard

That's certainly the belief. But the reality is that he has no clue how to get things done in government, he has no track record, and from what we can see in the election campaign, no ability to build trust or apply judgement. He displays very low intelligence, and can barely string a sentence together. If elected I think he'll be a man of tantrums rather than a man of action, and US government will suffer even worse gridlock than it did under Obama.

Shard

Yes, I can understand that disenfranchised segment voting for him. It's the many others that I question.

not2old

Male or female President, it doesn't matter.

Clinton & Trump are both senior citizens

Is there any other choice available?

Clinton has been in the white house previously, knows its inner workings, is an ex-lawyer (like most in the past) is a career politician, knows just about everyone in Washington, Wall St & international scene. Has the handlers to do whats right for her, not necessarily whats good for American public.

A true politician

Trump, is a loud mouth Narcissistic bully, typical reality TV person, sees it as a game. I believe he is laughing that he has got this far conning everyone into thinking he is serious about being the next President.

Zero knowledge of how to be the leader of a country, no tact - he runs on street smarts learned from running a real estate business.

Knows how to use the camera, not good on his feet, says way too much of the wrong things that would annoy the American public IMO


.

Former Lancastrian

So basically Trump is like some other world leaders who also have no clue how to get things done.
Harper did he have a clue? Is Merkel regretting her decisions on refugees? How about Cameron calling the vote on Brexit? Im sure there are hundreds of more examples we could mention. Didn't Congress just override Obama on the 9/11 Victims Bill so did he have a clue when he vetoed this vote?

not2old

Step back, clear your head & see the political leader of most countries as contract employees, who know its a short term & that when its done they never get a new contract.

Its generally the dictators in some of these crazy countries that get to remain life long employees

in the history of western world leaders (lets say the last 150 years) its all down to influence (power & politics of who is on your side), that its a short term career job, that not one single head of state in a term of office can possibly fix everything.

That these so called leaders have wall on wall of handlers in the back office, ones that are career civil servants in cushy jobs with big fat salaries, pensions & perks - its those thousands of people behind the leader in those countries, all the way down the ladder that are the true 'little emperors'.

They were there before the current leader & will be there when the door revolves.

A head of state leader is a puppet. Has zero influence or decision making, is advised [told] what to do & say by so many, gets pulled in every direction to the point any decision is the wrong one. Has speech writers, must smile a lot, nod & be gracious.

Its just a job


.

Former Lancastrian

It doesn't matter what either candidate says or promises to do its what actually happens that matters. We all know the wall won't be built. I highly doubt NAFTA will be torn up. Illegal immigrants will still cross the border and work in jobs that a lot of Americans wouldn't do. Companies will still move away and get cheaper labour and production costs to satisfy shareholders. The leaders seem to be doing a great job in Chicago at the moment. How many shootings and murders this year?
Its a job with some nice perks. Who wouldn't want their own 747 to travel on and chauffeur driven vehicles. How often do they buy a meal or clothes or pay utility bills like we the minions do. Mmmm its a bit cold in February perhaps I should go and visit some warmer climate play some golf and have a few meetings or show support to wherever I choose to go. Tickets for the Super Bowl or World Series or NBA finals no problem. Whats no to love