Another cringe worthy moment from the Donald!

[Scrumhalf]

You would think that in any sane country, a guy that utters the complete nonsense and dangerous rhetoric like Trump, a guy that doubles down when called out for his lies, that blatantly states that his policy if elected would be to commit war crimes, would be commpletely marginalized and basically run out of town on a rail.

But no.. in the bizzaro world that is US election politics, this guy actually could be the GOP candidate next November. He seems to be able to utter whatever batshit crazy drivel he wants and doesn't care!! It's just beggars belief how he not just tolerated but actually thrives.

[chuckz28]

I agree with you Scrum. The guy is making some over the line comments, seemingly without putting much thought into them. Either way he is far to authoritarian for my liking. Ive gotten into arguments with too many people about his retoric for my comfort.

[Bouncer]

Oh I agree in terms of it being a joke that he is even in the running. I just happen to like the idea of killing confirmed terrorists families. Lol

[Scrumhalf]

Precisely what I said!!

Israeli expert: Donald Trump's call to kill terrorists' families immoral, ineffective - CNNPolitics.com

Why not a single news organization, TV or newspaper, called Trump on this, and it has to be an Israeli counter-terrorism expert, beggars belief. :disagree:

[Bouncer]

Donald Trump’s Very Strange Brand of Narcissism

He both fits and doesn't fit the narcissistic profile

You may have noticed this before, but moderation has never exactly suited Donald Trump. There are ordinary buildings and there are the mirrored confections that are Trump buildings. There are presidential bandwagons and there is the horn-blaring, traffic-clearing Trump bandwagon. There is, too, ordinary narcissism and then there is Trumpian narcissism.

Well before Trump ever declared for the presidency, he was already the exemplar of the narcissistic form. The strutting, blustering, arm-waving dance of the narcissist were all there. So too were the intolerance of criticism, the self-aggrandizing claims, the look-at-me hair and the envy-me wives. His campaign has merely turbo-charged all that.

But while Trump’s narcissism seems self-evident—even if, as far as we know, no doctor has ever formally diagnosed or treated him—it’s a particularly complex case of the disorder. I spent a lot of time in the mirror-world of the narcissist when I was writing my 2014 book, The Narcissist Next Door, and most of the experts I spoke to and studies I read define the condition as a sort of toxic mash-up of grandiosity, entitlement and lack of empathy. Trump checks those boxes almost every day—most recently and disturbingly the lack of empathy one. You don’t mock the appearance of a reporter who has a conspicuous disability if you give a fig about how the target of your ridicule will feel about your behavior.

But from the beginning of his campaign, Trump has been an atypical narcissist too. Most narcissists, especially ones who have achieved as much fame and wealth as Trump has, are exceedingly good at what’s known as the emergent—or beginning—phase of any enterprise. There’s a charm, a charisma, an articulate energy that draws people in. Think John Edwards in the early stages of his brief and eventually disastrous political career. Think of every boss you’ve ever had who dazzled and energized the entire staff in the first six months on the job, only to turn into a boor and a bully later.

But Trump, strangely, has skipped over that honeymoon phase. And stranger still, his followers don’t seem to mind—as a new poll that finds him the favorite of 36% of Republican voters, his best numbers yet, shows. He does not charm. He does not dazzle. He does not soothe like a Ronald Reagan or seduce like a Bill Clinton.

His language is hamstrung by his over-reliance on simplistic superlatives—huge, the greatest, the best. He slips into both innuendo—as when he talked of blood coming out of Megyn Kelly’s “wherever”—and the clumsy talk of a bad seducer, as when he recently told a heckler, “Just relax. You’ll like me very much, believe me.” Even his gestures are limited, mostly to a stiff sort of half-clap, in which he brings his hands back and forth as if to applaud but never actually gets there. These are not the subtle semiotics of a Clinton, for whom pointing a straight index finger indicated one thing and a slightly bent one something else.

Trump’s lack of either ability or willingness to provide an answer when he is asked for specifics about his proposals (“We’re going to be looking into all these things”) also runs counter to the common grain of narcissism. In a just-released study, psychological scientist William von Hippel of Australia’s University of Queensland recruited a sample group 417 volunteers and surveyed their friends and family members, asking how charismatic, funny and quick-witted they were—all of which are qualities the emergent narcissist exhibits in abundance. Von Hippel then had the 417 subjects themselves take two tests: one asked them to answer 30 common knowledge questions, such as “Name a precious gem.” The other had them indicate the location of a dot or identify a pattern on a screen.

In both cases, he graded the subjects less on accuracy than on speed. And in all cases, the people who scored highest on swiftness of thought also scored highest on the three personality metrics. Whatever else Trump’s supporters might like about him, charisma, humor and sharp improvisational thinking are not part of the list.

None of this means Trump isn’t a narcissist. The condition is practically the table stakes for anyone who considers running for president in the first place. Some studies—most famously one by psychologist Ronald Deluga of Bryant University in Rhode Island—have even used historical data and psychological diagnostic tools to rank all of the presidents on a narcissism scale. (The winner, in case you were wondering, scoring 35 on a scale of 0 to 40, was a dark horse: Chester A. Arthur, known in his time by the nickname “dude of the White House”—a nod to his wardrobe, which included 80 pairs of pants, and his habit of changing his clothes three times a day.)

Trump, like some of America’s less charming presidents—Richard Nixon, Calvin Coolidge—brings all of the bad to the narcissism game and little of the good, though Coolidge and Nixon were at least known for an intellectual nimbleness, and Coolidge was known for an extreme reserve, both of which Trump clearly lacks. Those very shortcomings, however, are a big part of Trump’s success so far. He has always tried to appeal less to hope than to grievance, less to joy than to rage. That, history has shown, can indeed be a route to winning high office—even if it’s also a route to doing very bad things once you get there.

Donald Trump's Very Strange Narcissism

[chuckz28]

Trump calls for 'complete shutdown' on Muslims entering US | Fox News

Yeah, yeah, yeah it's a fox article but it's slamming Trump for his latest crazy comment. Banning Muslims from entering the counrty. At least all the other candidates are saying he's over the line.

[Bouncer]

I honestly don't think he wants to be president at this point. I think he is enjoying the attention. Feels powerful.

[chuckz28]

I hope not. Could you imagine a knee jerk reaction guy like this with the might of the US military in his control?

[Bouncer]

He just seems like he's trying to one up himself each week with a headline comment. I think he's just enjoying himself and laughing on the inside at the fact that he's doing so well.

[Turbo3000]

Wrestling character.

Shock jock candidate.

[Bouncer]

Hey scrum, give this a read. Tell me what you think please.

"Donald Trump wouldn't be a good president, but my hope is that a President Trump would make future presidents great. I'm tired of hearing the same rhetoric (granted "make America great again" is ripped off from a Reagan speech). Every presidential election seems like the same concepts, but different faces, different names, and even some familiar people. I feel like candidates talk down to us. Not in a condescending way like we should admire them because of their position or title, but in a degrading way like we're all idiots. They use the same key words to make us clap and put signs in our lawns.

I hope that Trump changes presidential election campaign practices whether he wins or not. I'd like to hear candidates speak their minds and not worry about the repercussions. When Trump says something off the wall his poll numbers seem to go up. I hope future candidates capitalize on this and speak their minds. Regardless if I agree with him or not it's refreshing to hear a candidate say anything off the script.

It's frustrating when a candidate is in the south and references the Bible (though I think Trump has done this to), or when a candidate gathers old people, veterans, mother's, etc and tells them what they want to hear. I think candidates should have beliefs and policies and say what they are regardless of the venue. Instead of pandering to a party or special interest group I want candidates to state their beliefs and then use their words to try and convince us why their ideas are beneficial and that we should vote for them. Stop trying to get votes by feeding people lies and bending to media buzzwords.

I want Trump to do well because I think theres a chance he can make our future better. Better by encouraging candidates to speak for themselves and not for the money being put in their pockets. It's time for candidates to stop jerking off voters and to actually tell us how they feel and where they stand.

As I said I think Donald Trump would be a terrible president, but I hope his bluntness and directness (however vague about policy he gets) in discussing issues becomes more and more common. It's nice to hear people running for office not sound just like the people from 4, 8, 12, 16, 20... years ago."

[Scrumhalf]

I disagree. There is nothing redeeming about Trump. He is a fascist, appealing to the basest of our instincts. There seems to be no place too low that he is not willing to go. It's disgusting, really.

If you are looking for someone who speaks his mind, look at Bernie Sanders. You may not agree with him, but he is unabashedly to the left and if I am not mistaken, pretty much calls himself a socialist candidate. He is upfront and open about what he believes in and what hjs platform is.

Sanders is logical and principled. Unfortunately, he gets very little coverage as mainstream media is fascinated by the dumpster fire that is Trump.

A democracy deserves the government it has. And Trump's popularity perhaps says more about us than about him.

[Bouncer]

I don't think there's anything redeeming about trump but I do think his rise may be a wake up call to the system and the American people that something has gone terribly wrong. In that sense, he may push us to become better and fix what's obviously broken.

As far as Sanders goes... I'm a person that needs to be inspired by someone for their passion. Nothing about his character that I find inspiring. Sanders is a smart man and a man I happen to agree with more times than not, but he's no leader. He cannot and will not inspire anyone to do anything. His voice is lost in the crowd for a reason. We need a smart man AND a leader in office.

[Scrumhalf]

I hope the disaster that is Trump is a teaching moment. But I'm not holding my breath. We seem to have learned nothing from the disaster that was George W.

[Mr I]

What are his chances of winning actually?