Donald Trump?
From his recent Comedy Central Roast to the Good Day interview, Donald Trump seems serious about running for office in 2012. When I first heard these speculations, I thought it was bogus and could never see myself taking The Don seriously as a candidate. However, the more I listen to him, the more I question and consider is The Don what America needs?
It sure would be a nice change to have an actual businessman in office and one that has not been involved with the political arena to provide a fresh perspective as the last two decades, the White House has been occupied by professional politicians. Now I used to be a Romney fan and appreciated his business background that he could bring to the table. However, when thinking about his active political life during the 2nd part of his career, I've become a bit jaded.
So my question to you all is The Don what American needs?
No
The rhetoric sounds refreshing, then he gets into specifics and he A) doesn't know wtf he is talking about or B) his ideas are absolutely crazy.
He would make the debates more interesting and I a lot more people would tune in to watch him.
Your not a businessman when you turn 100 million into 100 million. I don't think being a punchline on a reality TV show qualifies you for one of the highest positions of power on earth.
He is what the media needs for sure.. I know I wont be able to take my eyes off that car crash
"The Don" sounds like a fecal pellet being thrown around the courtyard by kids sick of playing World of Warcraft.
Maybe The Situation should run against the Donald.
Yeah and he should nominate Paris Hilton as his running mate.
Are you fucking serious? He's not so much a businessman as he is a shameless self-promoter.
What America needs? America needs an obnoxious loud-mouth representing them to the rest of the world? A businessman is not a bad idea, I'd nominate Bloomy... not Trump.
And practically speaking, it would never work. He's a Class A idiot and way too overexposed... his opponents would have a field day with all the publicity he's gotten in the past.
And lastly, anyone with half a brain knows Trump isn't even 10% as successful as he claims to be. He's good at branding himself and thats about it. Which puts him in the same boat as Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and J Lo. If that even, atleast the success they claim, if any, is real.
I love this post because it assumes that the average American is like us. The average American doesn't know the difference between a shameless self-promoter and a businessman (and honestly, I think that's a bit unfair). The man is good at branding, why are you holding that against him, especially given how insanely important that is in politics?
Keep in mind that politics is mostly about popularity (have you seen the general public get quizzed about politics or give their post-debate thoughts on who won? - it's enough to make one cringe and throw up).
What is Obama's claim to fame? That he's an educated African American that gets an A+ in public speaking. I don't see how you say Trump is less qualified than Obama. As far as business credentials of the Republicans, the only other front runner you could argue is more qualified is Romney. Anyone who votes for Romney is retarded as far as reading people; I've never seen someone have so much trouble hiding the fact that he's just in it for the power and personal perks, doesn't really give a shit about the common person at all. Even if Trump is the same internally, he sure as hell does a much better job of convincing me otherwise.
It's a shame, but you are right.
It seems like the most rather unremarkable people succeed in politics because voters want somebody they can relate to. If you feel the president is on your intellectual level, this is a problem. The average Joe is neither smart enough nor qualified enough to run a country.
Just looking at his resume, Obama is probably less qualified than your average MD. But if you have a track record of financial success, you are elitist and out of touch. Romney is fucked on so many fronts. Poorly understood religion? Check. "Wall Street insider"? Check. Really rich? Yup.
I can't say I really care how Romney feels personally. If he just wants to be President for power, fine; if he gets the economy going and doesn't impede my personal freedom, he'll be the best president of my lifetime.
I don't know what will be the catalyst for people to elect qualified individuals. It is not enough just to be smart (Obama clearly is reasonably intelligent); you should actually have a background in business or economics to run the world's largest economy.
Don't think Marcus was dinging him for being good at branding. He was dinging him for being good at precisely nothing else.
Trump's business experience falls into two categories:
1) Branding of sub-par luxury goods 2) Bankrupting casinos
Not sure that sort of business experience puts him head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in terms of suitability for office.
Agreed, Trump has no real successes beyond his mastery of PR; we actually need somebody with substance. Ideally, I wouldn't even want a Buffet in the Whitehouse; too much of his success can be attributed to exogenous factors.
I want somebody that inherited a shitty organization, faced a bearish economy, and proceeded pimp slap his way to profit. Jack Welch/Steve Jobs 2012?
Haha a lot of hate for Trump on this board. The man knows how to stave off bankruptcy; isn't the US bankrupt? I think he'd be quite good actually.
Ron Paul is too intellectual, Romney is a megalomaniac, Palin is retarded, Gingrich is too old and past his political prime, Huckabee is only for the religious right, and the other candidates, while some are good, are probably not going to get enough traction and name recognition to rise above the aforementioned candidates.
Given the candidates above, I like Trump the most especially when I factor in electability. I think Trump is probably the Republican's best hope of blowing Obama away in a debate.
Plenty of real businessmen to pick from in this country. Bloomberg would be a legit choice.
Yes, but Bloomie isn't running...
He should run, we can make a tv show about, "White house appertanince" "Sectary of state your FIRED" and Eliot Spitzler can run for VP
I was thinking the exact same thing. The next Apprentice series winner becomes his VP and running mate.
If the GOP nominates the same bullshit hacks that they have been the last few elections, they'll not have a prayer. I pray they nominate someone worth a damn...
Did you seriously just say that Trump would blow Obama away in a debate?
Trump is an idiot, he has the intelligence of s fruit fly. He's all showmanship, he couldn't intelligently talk his way out of wet paper bag unless he's getting softball questions lobbed at him by talk show hosts.
This man sued a newspaper for saying he wasn't really a billionaire (which he wasn't/isn't).
Trump staved off bankruptcy? He forfeited his ill-manage casinos to the banks. There are a million and one men out there that are smarter and better businessmen than Donald Trump.
This whole presidential bid is again nothing more than leveraging his brand awareness to increase his brand value. He sold out long long ago... the guys got fuckin Chinese-made Donald J. Trump branded ties on sale at J.C. Penny. His "the Trump name is synonymous with class and luxury" days have long passed. Now he's focusing on licensing the Trump name and a presidential bid will increase that royalty stream from $8 per tie to $11 per tie. Its as simple as that.
And if anyone ever crosses paths with either of his douchey kids, its all you can do to not vomit while hearing them gush about their dad or The Trump Organization every 3rd word.
donald trump ran a company that he inherited from his dad, into bankruptcy more than once. what the hell do you think he's gonna do to our country?
The way the economy is developing, the Republicans don't stand a chance to win in 2012. Unemployment will be down to about 7% and GDP grow at >3%. Few of this is Obama's merit though. Given that there is no chance they will win, the Republicans should nominate JEB BUSH. This way we will at least have a good laugh.
OK, I dislike Trump a lot. But he did grow his father's business a lot. His father was not billionaire. But nonetheless I don't think he knows anything about politics and this is a huge PR move. His repeated birther claims among others proves this to me. He is a decent businessman, but due to his repeated brand-building activities (the Apprentice, Trump Hotel, Trump Casino, etc.) he is not viable. He reminds me of a dumber GWB. Similar politics and worse ideas.
He’s a fuckin scumbag, his whole song and dance is that he’s a self made millionaire. At no point will you ever hear him acknowledge the fact that his father laid the foundation of his business. His father owned a lot of middle income residential housing projects across the US... focused, but not limited to the tri-state area. By way of example, ONE Of the buildings he owned outside of the tri-state (read: less valuable real estate) was worth about $6 million in the 1960’s. I think it would be a pretty conservative estimate assume the total worth of his father’s empire at the time was $50 million. Fortune has Trump with a net worth of $2.1 billion… $50 million to $2.1 billion from 1962 to now is a CAGR of 8%. Hardly impressive.
On top of that, the guys an idiot. I’d hardly call him an astute investor/businessman. In negotiating the bank takeover of his casinos, one of his biggest sticking points was that he retain his CEO title. He won’t have control, he won’t be running the business, but he’s willing to give up value for the sake of his own ego. I absolutely wouldn’t want such an idiot representing this country, he’d be rubbing people the wrong way the world over. You the world doesn’t like Americans now? Put this obnoxious loud mouth egomaniac in office.
I will gave him one thing, his Eastern Bloc wife would hands down be the hottest first lady ever.
That was right on the money. Trump is a fraud of epic proportions. It's honestly disgraceful that he's given as much attention as he is. I fail to understand why he is given a platform to speak on anything serious.
What do people think of Jon Huntsman ? Does he have a shot or is he hopeless too because he's a Mormon ?
I can't wait to see this clip played 10,000 times by his opponents if the Donald actually runs:
[quote=SAC]I can't wait to see this clip played 10,000 times by his opponents if the Donald actually runs:
] Are you kidding?! Middle America would eat that shit up. They would bury that if they were smart.
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