First debate…who won?

[GwinnettDawg]

I especially want to hear from Bidens Taint Licker.

I thought Vivek was slightly off, too much arguing with others. DeSantis, Christie, and Haley did well. I’m like Tim Scott too. Hutchison and Burgum were just ok. Pence needs to shut the Fvck up sometimes.

 

[alphatiger08]

Desantis, Haley, and Bergen were the winners. Desantis was the biggest winner imo. Media and Trump been dragging Desantis through mud the last six months. Vivek’s surge before the debate turned everyone‘s attention to him instead of Desantis. Vivek impressed many, but turned off probably close to as many. And 90% of the ones he impressed are Trump supporters, so his Performance will be a net negative. Haley seemed sharp, and I think she improved her stock. Bergen will get big boost because most people didn’t know who he was before tonight, but his ceiling is low. I like him, and hes sharp, but I don’t know if he could ever move up enough.

Christie had a couple good moments, but I also thought Vivek made him look bad when he called out his entire campaign’s purpose as being anti Trump and not pro republican agenda.

Scott was the biggest disappointment to me, and I hate that. He’s definitely someone I could see myself voting for, but I also want my vote to matter, and I don’t think he showed that he can unite the base behind him. After tonight, I think he would need to be a VP before standing a chance as president. I would love to see him in a VP debate against Kamala. Her playing race card and talking about social injustices, while he follows up every line with proof that it’s all bs.

 

[Reasoned]

Didn’t watch but I’m sure I’ll hear about it all tomorrow.

 

[alphatiger08]

Didn’t watch but I’m sure I’ll hear about it all tomorrow.

Don’t count on it… why do you think Trump decided to turn himself in for the GA charges tmw? Media will mostly be done talking about it by lunch.

 

[David_Dennison]

I especially want to hear from Bidens Taint Licker.

I thought Vivek was slightly off, too much arguing with others. DeSantis, Christie, and Haley did well. I’m like Tim Scott too. Hutchison and Burgum were just ok. Pence needs to shut the Fvck up sometimes.

I would vote for Christie Haley VP in a microsecond… but I was more interested in the Cult co-conspirators lining up outside the Fulton County Jail for their perp walls and mug shots .

 

[alphatiger08]

I would vote for Christie Haley VP in a microsecond… but I was more interested in the Cult co-conspirators lining up outside the Fulton County Jail for their perp walls and mug shots .

I always took you for an Asa Hutchinson guy…

 

[Sanctions Stand]

I especially want to hear from Bidens Taint Licker.

I thought Vivek was slightly off, too much arguing with others. DeSantis, Christie, and Haley did well. I’m like Tim Scott too. Hutchison and Burgum were just ok. Pence needs to shut the Fvck up sometimes.

I dunno.... I think you were just seeing all the possible future VPs speak.

 

[GwinnettDawg]

I would vote for Christie Haley VP in a microsecond… but I was more interested in the Cult co-conspirators lining up outside the Fulton County Jail for their perp walls and mug shots .

So you didn’t watch.

 

[Sanctions Stand]

I would vote for Christie Haley VP in a microsecond… but I was more interested in the Cult co-conspirators lining up outside the Fulton County Jail for their perp walls and mug shots .

Mug shots get votes bro.

 

[GwinnettDawg]

I dunno.... I think you were just seeing all the possible future VPs speak.

Could be. Someone commented they were all auditioning for Cabinet posts.

 

[derek_tiger]

I agree with the WSJ... it was Vivek's night... Haley 2nd... no surprise here, but gator's pick (Chunko) went backwards.

Eliza Collins: Absolutely. Vivek Ramaswamy, this was his night. Now, whether it was a good night for him or a bad night for him depends on who you ask. He is a political outsider. He is 38 years old. He was polling at 0% when he got in the race. And he was the person that all of the other candidates took shots at. He took shots right back. He was very critical of the others on stage. But what that meant was that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is really number two and seen as Trump's biggest competitor at this moment, got away largely unscathed. He was not criticized by his opponents despite being seen as the top of that pack. Ramaswamy was the most searched candidate after the event, and I'm sure he'll get a little bump in the polls. He might get a bump in donations. The question is, is that enough for him or for any other candidate to take on Trump?

Luke Vargas: Ramaswamy, you say, the most searched, perhaps the most attacked candidate during the debate. Yet, when it was up to him to try and go head to head with the man leading in the polls, Donald Trump, here is what he had to say.

Vivek Ramaswamy: Let's just speak the truth, okay? President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century.

Luke Vargas: You can hear the cheers there, Eliza. How characteristic was that sentiment from Ramaswamy when it comes to where these candidates stand on Trump?

Eliza Collins: Ramaswamy is unique in really just his compliments of the President, saying he deserves to be pardoned. There is no criticism from Ramaswamy towards Trump. The other candidates really don't want to talk about Trump. They've criticized him a bit on the sides. Nikki Haley, who was the United Nations ambassador under Trump, said he was unpopular, and they would lose the general election because of him. DeSantis talked about his record a bit. But most of them said that they would vote for Trump even if convicted. Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, so the former governor of New Jersey and former governor of Arkansas, were the only two who said they would not vote for Trump if convicted.

Luke Vargas: So Trump getting somewhat spared by the majority of the candidates on stage last night. You mentioned Nikki Haley, though, who sort of made a pitch to voters that the Republican Party needs to move away from the former standard bearer. Here she was.

Nikki Haley: We have to look at the fact that three quarters of Americans don't want a rematch between Trump and Biden, and we have to face the fact that Trump is the most disliked politician in America. We can't win a general election that way.

Luke Vargas: What of that, Eliza? Is it fair to say these candidates found it easier to attack the party and its general relationship to Trump than it was to actually go after the former president directly?

Eliza Collins: Well, the former standard bearer is very popular with Republican voters. He's seen as an outsider despite being the president. So with the GOP electorate, it is absolutely popular to criticize the establishment. Trump is very famous for saying he wants to drain the swamp. But Haley also really emerged tonight as someone who was trying to win back the moderate Republicans and independents that have turned away from the party in the Trump era and, in turn, lost the Republican Party some elections.

 

[BKHusky]

I watched some but didn’t catch the whole thing. It’s clear Vivek is a fake and a fraud. His “surge” recently is also all smoke and mirrors, I.e. it’s not real. Clearly he has some people hoodwinked though.

DeSantis had a strong finish after a weak start. Christie had a few good lines. Pence needs to go away.

 

[derek_tiger]

I watched some but didn’t catch the whole thing. It’s clear Vivek is a fake and a fraud. His “surge” recently is also all smoke and mirrors, I.e. it’s not real. Clearly he has some people hoodwinked though.

DeSantis had a strong finish after a weak start. Christie had a few good lines. Pence needs to go away.

I've seen this recently and don't see the 'fake or fraud' you speak of... what is it that makes you think he's faking?

He took a question from stupid pan-sexual in Iowa and completely flipped her; he goes toe to toe with dipshyt Kaitlin (CNN) and puts stands her on her head... I'm not seeing it.

 

[derek_tiger]

Looks like The Epoch Times also scored Ramaswamy as the winner...

Not bad for a 38 yo

 

[BKHusky]

I've seen this recently and don't see the 'fake or fraud' you speak of... what is it that makes you think he's faking?

He took a question from stupid pan-sexual and completely flipped her; he goes toe to toe with dipshyt Kaitlin (CNN) and puts stands her on her head... I'm not seeing it.

Currently he’s saying what he thinks the MAGA base wants to hear. His recent deal with CNN and Kaitlyn actually makes him look bad, because he tried to use the im a victim of a lying media routine (which as we know the right usually is), except they had the receipts about what he originally said and he wasn’t actually a victim. It’s like Juicy claiming he was beat up by MAGA people, it weakens future actual claims of bias.

He has no real positions and no record. His positions change with the wind.

Trump is working behind the scenes with the Dems and leftist media to go negative on DeSantis, and Vivek is a puppet in the process. If he actually were soaring in the polls and a real candidate, he’d be catching Trump’s wrath.

I’ll try to provide some links tonight when I’m on my laptop vs on my phone currently.

 

[HONKifUvCOACHED4BAMA]

I agree with the WSJ... it was Vivek's night... Haley 2nd... no surprise here, but gator's pick (Chunko) went backwards.

Eliza Collins: Absolutely. Vivek Ramaswamy, this was his night. Now, whether it was a good night for him or a bad night for him depends on who you ask. He is a political outsider. He is 38 years old. He was polling at 0% when he got in the race. And he was the person that all of the other candidates took shots at. He took shots right back. He was very critical of the others on stage. But what that meant was that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is really number two and seen as Trump's biggest competitor at this moment, got away largely unscathed. He was not criticized by his opponents despite being seen as the top of that pack. Ramaswamy was the most searched candidate after the event, and I'm sure he'll get a little bump in the polls. He might get a bump in donations. The question is, is that enough for him or for any other candidate to take on Trump?

Luke Vargas: Ramaswamy, you say, the most searched, perhaps the most attacked candidate during the debate. Yet, when it was up to him to try and go head to head with the man leading in the polls, Donald Trump, here is what he had to say.

Vivek Ramaswamy: Let's just speak the truth, okay? President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century.

Luke Vargas: You can hear the cheers there, Eliza. How characteristic was that sentiment from Ramaswamy when it comes to where these candidates stand on Trump?

Eliza Collins: Ramaswamy is unique in really just his compliments of the President, saying he deserves to be pardoned. There is no criticism from Ramaswamy towards Trump. The other candidates really don't want to talk about Trump. They've criticized him a bit on the sides. Nikki Haley, who was the United Nations ambassador under Trump, said he was unpopular, and they would lose the general election because of him. DeSantis talked about his record a bit. But most of them said that they would vote for Trump even if convicted. Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, so the former governor of New Jersey and former governor of Arkansas, were the only two who said they would not vote for Trump if convicted.

Luke Vargas: So Trump getting somewhat spared by the majority of the candidates on stage last night. You mentioned Nikki Haley, though, who sort of made a pitch to voters that the Republican Party needs to move away from the former standard bearer. Here she was.

Nikki Haley: We have to look at the fact that three quarters of Americans don't want a rematch between Trump and Biden, and we have to face the fact that Trump is the most disliked politician in America. We can't win a general election that way.

Luke Vargas: What of that, Eliza? Is it fair to say these candidates found it easier to attack the party and its general relationship to Trump than it was to actually go after the former president directly?

Eliza Collins: Well, the former standard bearer is very popular with Republican voters. He's seen as an outsider despite being the president. So with the GOP electorate, it is absolutely popular to criticize the establishment. Trump is very famous for saying he wants to drain the swamp. But Haley also really emerged tonight as someone who was trying to win back the moderate Republicans and independents that have turned away from the party in the Trump era and, in turn, lost the Republican Party some elections.

Ain’t reading all that but I agree that the Indian opened up a can of Wahoo MacDanial on fatboy and the hysterical whore. The media will pimp the Indian in hopes of hurting Trump but it won’t work.

 

[derek_tiger]

Currently he’s saying what he thinks the MAGA base wants to hear. His recent deal with CNN and Kaitlyn actually makes him look bad, because he tried to use the im a victim of a lying media routine (which as we know the right usually is), except they had the receipts about what he originally said and he wasn’t actually a victim. It’s like Juicy claiming he was beat up by MAGA people, it weakens future actual claims of bias.

I don't think he's just saying this about Trump. CNN/Kaitlyn actually pulled ONE SENTENCE from his 1 hour talk at the Iowa Fair about arming Taiwanese people as if that were the only thing he would do to protect them from China... and she didn't show the other 7 things he said he would do to protect them... that's what he meant by the lying media. Maybe you didn't see the entire exchange btw them.

He has no real positions and no record. His positions change with the wind.

I've watched about 5 TV interviews and listened to him on 4 podcasts (Joe Rogan for one). I can tell you his position on everything from immigration to crime to fossil fuels, etc... has not changed a single iota. I have heard it so much I can almost recite it here now. I have yet to see some interviewer stump him on any policy he is promoting. Also, someone else ran for POTUS a few years ago with no record... just FYI.

Trump is working behind the scenes with the Dems and leftist media to go negative on DeSantis, and Vivek is a puppet in the process. If he actually were soaring in the polls and a real candidate, he’d be catching Trump’s wrath.
I’ll try to provide some links tonight when I’m on my laptop vs on my phone currently.

My guess is we'll start to see him move up in the polls. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on him if you start paying attention to him more and still think this way. I find him a refreshing outsider like I did DJT, only one with a lot more couth and a much better temperament.

 

[BKHusky]

I may be thinking of the wrong exchange, so I’ll have to go back and check that as well.

Yes, the other outsider is the reason we have Biden and that the right has greatly underperformed in 3 straight elections. He also turned the country over to Fauci and the like and printed trillions of dollars right when we needed conservative leadership the most.

Trump 2017-2019 would have been looked down upon kindly by (honest) historians. Unfortunately 2020 was such an abject failure for him and the country, it ruins most of the rest of it.

I’ll try to go back and listen to more of the stuff Vivek has put out, but he comes off as so fake and insincere that he’s hard for me to listen to.

 

[ZosoDawg]

I watched some but didn’t catch the whole thing. It’s clear Vivek is a fake and a fraud. His “surge” recently is also all smoke and mirrors, I.e. it’s not real. Clearly he has some people hoodwinked though.

DeSantis had a strong finish after a weak start. Christie had a few good lines. Pence needs to go away.

Vivek is Obama light. Something about him that makes me believe he has been groomed the same way Barry was. He has come out of nowhere like Barry did and he is to polished. I’m gonna have to see a bigger body of work before I trust him

 

[BamaFan1137]

I especially want to hear from Bidens Taint Licker.

I thought Vivek was slightly off, too much arguing with others. DeSantis, Christie, and Haley did well. I’m like Tim Scott too. Hutchison and Burgum were just ok. Pence needs to shut the Fvck up sometimes.

Vivek is just so smart and quick witted he comes across as snarky. I don't think his age helps in that regard. But damn he is smart. Some people are concerned that he is tied to Soros but I think that's BS. I do think he has more lib in him than he's letting on, however.

I like Scott too and he's also very smart. More of the deep thinker than a talented orator. He did ok last night but didn't really shine imo. He is disciplined and I believe that he is trustworthy. He also clearly an American patriot.

DeSantis did better than I expected but that's probably because I had pretty low expectations for him. A) I thought everyone would gang up on him and B) his campaign has been a bit of a shitshow lately.

Haley is a globalist...George W with a vagina, so no thanks. If she wasn't "bought and paid for" ($1 to Vivek), I think she'd be a good candidate. Ditto on Christie but truth be told, I'd have a hard time voting for someone that obese. You can't manage your weight, when it's life or death, but you can manage the most powerful country on earth? Yea, ok.

Everyone else was window dressing.

 

[derek_tiger]

Vivek is just so smart and quick witted he comes across as snarky. I don't think his age helps in that regard. But damn he is smart. Some people are concerned that he is tied to Soros but I think that's BS. I do think he has more lib in him than he's letting on, however.
I like Scott too and he's also very smart. More of the deep thinker than a talented orator. He did ok last night but didn't really shine imo. He is disciplined and I believe that he is trustworthy. He also clearly an American patriot.
DeSantis did better than I expected but that's probably because I had pretty low expectations for him. A) I thought everyone would gang up on him and B) his campaign has been a bit of a shitshow lately.
Haley is a globalist...George W with a vagina, so no thanks. If she wasn't "bought and paid for" ($1 to Vivek), I think she'd be a good candidate. Ditto on Christie but truth be told, I'd have a hard time voting for someone that obese. You can't manage your weight, when it's life or death, but you can manage the most powerful country on earth? Yea, ok.
Everyone else was window dressing.

Vivek is going to appeal to the millennials and my hope is that he does so wonderfully. Conservatives don't really have a succession plan now and the ones that would be are pushing 60+.

I like DeSantis and will certainly vote for him (if he is the nominee), but he just isn't very impressive... AND, he waited to for Vivek and the others before raising his hand on the question about supporting Trump IF he were to get the nomination... he looked like a little kid in class waiting to see what the others did first... pvssy.

I don't know where the Soros crap came from either... Vivek has started and sold 2 billion dollar companies and is practically self-funding his campaign. Who needs more money??

 

[dhetiger]

Vivek is just so smart and quick witted he comes across as snarky. I don't think his age helps in that regard. But damn he is smart. Some people are concerned that he is tied to Soros but I think that's BS. I do think he has more lib in him than he's letting on, however.

I like Scott too and he's also very smart. More of the deep thinker than a talented orator. He did ok last night but didn't really shine imo. He is disciplined and I believe that he is trustworthy. He also clearly an American patriot.

DeSantis did better than I expected but that's probably because I had pretty low expectations for him. A) I thought everyone would gang up on him and B) his campaign has been a bit of a shitshow lately.

Haley is a globalist...George W with a vagina, so no thanks. If she wasn't "bought and paid for" ($1 to Vivek), I think she'd be a good candidate. Ditto on Christie but truth be told, I'd have a hard time voting for someone that obese. You can't manage your weight, when it's life or death, but you can manage the most powerful country on earth? Yea, ok.

Everyone else was window dressing.

I would love to see Scott in the White House.

 

[BKHusky]

Vivek is going to appeal to the millennials and my hope is that he does so wonderfully. Conservatives don't really have a succession plan now and the ones that would be are pushing 60+.

I like DeSantis and will certainly vote for him (if he is the nominee), but he just isn't very impressive... AND, he waited to for Vivek and the others before raising his hand on the question about supporting Trump IF he were to get the nomination... he looked like a little kid in class waiting to see what the others did first... pvssy.

I don't know where the Soros crap came from either... Vivek has started and sold 2 billion dollar companies and is practically self-funding his campaign. Who needs more money??

So DeSantis is a pussy because of the looking around moment, yet he has an incredible record as a governor over the last few years of taking on the left on all the big issues. Is this how we pick politicians now? A smooth talking kid is all you need to be? I guess it worked for the left in 2008. I want results. There hasn’t been a Republican president to deliver real results since Reagan. Thus I want the candidate with by far the strongest record in the field both as a congressman and a governor to be the next president.

 

[derek_tiger]

So DeSantis is a pussy because of the looking around moment, yet he has an incredible record as a governor over the last few years of taking on the left on all the big issues. Is this how we pick politicians now? A smooth talking kid is all you need to be? I guess it worked for the left in 2008. I want results. There hasn’t been a Republican president to deliver real results since Reagan. Thus I want the candidate with by far the strongest record in the field both as a congressman and a governor to be the next president.

Don't get me wrong, I like RD's policies and governance. I usually read more about him and saw very little. When I did start to see him campaigning I just thought he was WAY more 'political' than I was expecting, and just underwhelming. You're right, we don't pick POTUS by how they connect with the population... but when they do, you get landslides like Reagan (which we'll probably never see again).

Another point in favor of RD is he is a governor... I think its pretty well known that governors make better POTUS's than Senators since they're used to getting things done via a staff vs. Reps or Senators who are mostly isolated.

Again, I'll take RD any day of the week over a Dem, but I just like Vivek and his potential.

 

[billywayneluck]

Any of them are better than the shitstick we have in right now. I would agree I’m disappointed in DeSantis. He’s run a shit campaign if you ask me. I don’t see him making it, although I agree he would do a good job.

 

[BKHusky]

Don't get me wrong, I like RD's policies and governance. I usually read more about him and saw very little. When I did start to see him campaigning I just thought he was WAY more 'political' than I was expecting, and just underwhelming. You're right, we don't pick POTUS by how they connect with the population... but when they do, you get landslides like Reagan (which we'll probably never see again).

Another point in favor of RD is he is a governor... I think its pretty well known that governors make better POTUS's than Senators since they're used to getting things done via a staff vs. Reps or Senators who are mostly isolated.

Again, I'll take RD any day of the week over a Dem, but I just like Vivek and his potential.

Understood. Sorry if I’m coming across as a dick, it isn’t intended to be that way.

I’m only 34 and my options in the general so far have been McCain, Romney, Trump, and Trump. DeSantis is so far head and shoulders above any of those that it is the one time I’ve been genuinely hopeful about who the Republican on the ballot could be. And none of the others are anywhere near him in policy, which is all I care about.

I see multiple people talking about his campaign being shit in this thread alone, but what big missteps has his campaign actually taken? I’ve asked before and I haven’t seen any substantial responses, outside of maybe the establishment funding narrative, which is a strange thing to me because the real RINOs/establishment don’t like DeSantis, I just think much of them realize how well liked he is in Florida and see he’s the best chance to beat Trump.

 

[David_Dennison]

I always took you for an Asa Hutchinson guy…

Both hate Trumpsky and are willing to sacrifice their popularity to to expose the facts on national TV to the Magats. Christy is smarter but fatter.

So you didn’t watch.

I watched the condensed version on YouTube.

 

[GwinnettDawg]

So DeSantis is a pussy because of the looking around moment, yet he has an incredible record as a governor over the last few years of taking on the left on all the big issues. Is this how we pick politicians now? A smooth talking kid is all you need to be? I guess it worked for the left in 2008. I want results. There hasn’t been a Republican president to deliver real results since Reagan. Thus I want the candidate with by far the strongest record in the field both as a congressman and a governor to be the next president.


This is what keeps pulling me back to DeSantis anytime I gaze over at another candidate.

 

[BamaFan1137]

I don't know where the Soros crap came from either... Vivek has started and sold 2 billion dollar companies and is practically self-funding his campaign. Who needs more money??

He took Soros' money for school. Some sort of scholarship...I think it was from Soros' brother but I'm not sure.

This happened in 2011??? What doesn't make sense is that he didn't need the money in 2011.

 

[BamaFan1137]

So DeSantis is a pussy because of the looking around moment, yet he has an incredible record as a governor over the last few years of taking on the left on all the big issues. Is this how we pick politicians now? A smooth talking kid is all you need to be? I guess it worked for the left in 2008. I want results. There hasn’t been a Republican president to deliver real results since Reagan. Thus I want the candidate with by far the strongest record in the field both as a congressman and a governor to be the next president.

It was an odd moment. Either he was in his own head thinking about something and only partially listening to the question or he hesitated because he's reeling a little bit.

Honestly not sure which...but it was odd.

 

[BamaFan1137]

I see multiple people talking about his campaign being shit in this thread alone, but what big missteps has his campaign actually taken? I’ve asked before and I haven’t seen any substantial responses, outside of maybe the establishment funding narrative, which is a strange thing to me because the real RINOs/establishment don’t like DeSantis, I just think much of them realize how well liked he is in Florida and see he’s the best chance to beat Trump.

You asked me and I glossed over it. I did that because I didn't want to argue over it. Also because I'd vote for RDS.

1. My #1 issue is that his campaign has absolutely fizzled. Why is that? Why is he shrinking in the polls? Is that his fault? Maybe not...but it's his responsibility.

2. He blew it with regards to Ukraine. I want us out of funding that BS too but to claim "Ukraine isn't vital to American interests" was ignorant. First off we signed the Budapest Memorandum. That doesn't mean that we have to fund their war but it does specifically state this..

Seek immediate Security Council action to provide assistance to the signatory if they "should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used."

That means they are vital to American interests. We made a guarantee. Not a NATO like guarantee but a guarantee all the same.

We promised this so that they would in turn give up the nukes the Soviet Union left in satellite states.

3. Slamming Trump over Trump supporting gay rights. That was a loser. I personally wouldn't have slammed Trump over anything. I would have differentiated myself over how my administration would do things differently but I wouldn't have wanted to alienate the Trumpers...especially not that early.

He had a series of small things here that devastated him imho.

4. That twitter launch was an embarrassment. Huge deal? Not in and of itself but it made his campaign look incompetent.

Again, I'd vote for RDS but I cannot pretend like he hasn't had several unforced errors.

 

[Pops Masterson]

Both hate Trumpsky and are willing to sacrifice their popularity to to expose the facts on national TV to the Magats. Christy is smarter but fatter.

I watched the condensed version on YouTube.

Aka you saw edited clips on CNN and your weekly email update from Lincoln Project.

 

[derek_tiger]

He took Soros' money for school. Some sort of scholarship...I think it was from Soros' brother but I'm not sure.
This happened in 2011??? What doesn't make sense is that he didn't need the money in 2011.

Did a bit more research and found he was chosen for a 'Paul Soros' scholarship... I don't know if George's brother makes a difference, but here's Vivek's explanation:

 

[billywayneluck]

I watched the edited version on YouTube.

FIFY

 

[BamaFan1137]

Did a bit more research and found he was chosen for a 'Paul Soros' scholarship... I don't know if George's brother makes a difference, but here's Vivek's explanation:

View embedded media

Kudos to him for getting out in front of this. Another rumor (unconfirmed by me) is that he was worth millions, if not billions, when he took that scholarship. If true that baffles me even more. Why would anyone take that scholarship if he had millions or billions? It's possibly BS, of course.

And agree with him on masks. When Fauci et al said masks weren't necessary, my instincts were that they were...so this makes sense.

 

[BKHusky]

You asked me and I glossed over it. I did that because I didn't want to argue over it. Also because I'd vote for RDS.

1. My #1 issue is that his campaign has absolutely fizzled. Why is that? Why is he shrinking in the polls? Is that his fault? Maybe not...but it's his responsibility.

2. He blew it with regards to Ukraine. I want us out of funding that BS too but to claim "Ukraine isn't vital to American interests" was ignorant. First off we signed the Budapest Memorandum. That doesn't mean that we have to fund their war but it does specifically state this..

Seek immediate Security Council action to provide assistance to the signatory if they "should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used."

That means they are vital to American interests. We made a guarantee. Not a NATO like guarantee but a guarantee all the same.

We promised this so that they would in turn give up the nukes the Soviet Union left in satellite states.

3. Slamming Trump over Trump supporting gay rights. That was a loser. I personally wouldn't have slammed Trump over anything. I would have differentiated myself over how my administration would do things differently but I wouldn't have wanted to alienate the Trumpers...especially not that early.

He had a series of small things here that devastated him imho.

4. That twitter launch was an embarrassment. Huge deal? Not in and of itself but it made his campaign look incompetent.

Again, I'd vote for RDS but I cannot pretend like he hasn't had several unforced errors.

I appreciate the response. The Trump sycophants have been been claiming since before he even officially declared that his campaign is falling apart. There's also been quite a few obviously false polls released that are then immediately spread far and wide by this same group to bolster the point. I've seen it repeated by non-Trump people that don't pay very close attention, but have read it so much that they believe a lot of half/non-truths. Clearly that isn't you, so comments I've made about the propaganda aspect don't really apply towards you.

As for each of your points.

1) I'm not sure his campaign has fizzled as much as the Republican party is just stepping on their dick at the moment. Many of the earlier polls with him polling high, before he announced, were just two way polls. Trump has his cult-like share that isn't going to waiver no matter what, which is somewhere in the 25-35% range. The rest of the Republicans are trying to gain the remaining percentages, and I think some of DeSantis' support is just being siphoned off by other Republicans that may be more moderate, more of a neocon, or that believe the MSNBC types to an extent and think DeSantis is too extreme. He's still clearly the leading non-Trump candidate, but I think the Republicans need to shrink that field sooner rather than later or we run the risk of it being too fractured. There's still time for that, and I hope they've learned from 2016.

2) I'm not a big foreign policy guy, other than I'm basically an isolationist and hate our world police stance on most things. So I agree entirely that Ukraine is of no vital interest to Americans, because it isn't, but I can see your point about it not being the smartest thing to say politically because of what you quoted. However, pardon my ignorance, but I was under the impression that only really applied if Russia used nuclear weapons. Am I wrong in that regard?

3) Do you have a link where he did this? This isn't intended to be a snarky question, I'm just not recalling it off the top of my head. I know he hit him on the trans stuff, which is an entirely different argument to me than "gay rights" and something I think DeSantis has approached extremely well in Florida, and is something that other Republican governors should model their states after.

4) I agree the Twitter thing was a misstep. I didn't have an issue launching on Twitter, but it should've immediately followed with something on all the mainstream news outlets because Twitter isn't real life, it's a smaller and often very specific demographic that uses it. Launching there didn't reach the critical older demographic. I actually think that's one of the reasons Trump still has as strong of support as he does is because a lot of that older demographic doesn't even know/care what Twitter/Truth Social is, and don't realize how badly Trump embarrasses himself daily on there.

I think another reason I get irritated about it is Trump makes "mistake" daily that would completely derail any of the other campaigns, and that 25-35% just lap it up and we're all sitting here having to watch the shitshow unfold.

 

[BamaFan1137]

The Trump sycophants have been been claiming since before he even officially declared that his campaign is falling apart.

Agree.

There's also been quite a few obviously false polls released that are then immediately spread far and wide by this same group to bolster the point.

All polls are BS. A lesson I learned in 2016.

I'm hopeful that this is accurate. I'd rather have RDS but I find myself migrating due to the lack of movement, the lack of momentum from his camp. I've kept hoping for movement. Honestly, I'd sort of given up. Nothing would please me more than being wrong here.

On Ukraine, yea that promise included both nuclear attacks and infringement upon their borders. I could give AF about Ukraine...but I do care about our promises because it affects our ability to shape events moving forward. Our promises have to matter. If you fvcks

---

with our friends, you fvcks with us. No, Ukraine isn't our friend but we made a promise.

I don't have a link over Trump's gay platitudes being made light of but it happened. I'm not exactly a gay rights activist so tifwiw.

As for twitter, I'm ok with the decision to announce there but it absolutely has to work. Like you said, tie that in with legacy media, however.

Trump can fvck up a million times over and Trumpers will never fault him for it. It is what it is...a cult of personality. That's what he has going for him. RDS has to develop his thing and match him to at least some degree.

RDS is a ball buster...he just has to see it through and make shit happen. He got some advantage by being "picked" by Trump and his cult, now he has to plow his own row. I think he can...but now he has to do it.

 

[Reasoned]

I like RDS, that being said, unless there is an extraordinary unplanned event, this isn’t going to be his rodeo (or any other non-Trump for that matter). All I know is this, if the Marxocrats are allowed to “win” this election and gain control of both houses …..it may very well be the last opportunity, they will pack the SC, push for DC & PR statehood and full amnesty citizenship for all illegals….just for warmups.

 

[BamaFan1137]

I like RDS, that being said, unless there is an extraordinary unplanned event, this isn’t going to be his rodeo (or any other non-Trump for that matter). All I know is this, if the Marxocrats are allowed to “win” this election and gain control of both houses …..it may very well be the last opportunity, they will pack the SC, push for DC & PR statehood and full amnesty citizenship for all illegals….just for warmups.

There is no doubt about it, we're standing on the banks of the Rubicon.

 

[BKHusky]

I get so disgusted with Trump as a Republican that I find myself kinda hoping he dies sooner rather than later (yes, I realize how that makes me sound), then I watch a clip like this and I'm like, yeah I'll still vote for his dumbass if he's who gets the nomination.