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Trump isn't clay waiting to be molded; he has clear ideas on what he wants to do, he's been talking about them since mid-2015 and has been acting on them, extre

Trump isn't clay waiting to be molded; he has clear ideas on what he wants to do, he's been talking about them since mid-2015 and has been acting on them, extremely aggressively, since November. It's past time to believe that he means what he says. In the last week: * He acted to ban immigration by many Muslims * He issued a statement on the Holocaust, and then defended it, using the language of Holocaust deniers. * He said immigration would favor Christians. How far does he have to go before you say, 'enough'?

molmalo 10y ago
He is not clay, of course, but his policies and ideas can be softened. But that won't happen if the people who can talk to him behind closed doors, where they can be truly honest about what they think, just leave! If the ones who can tell him to his face that he is wrong with something quit, you can't expect this to get any better, and believe me when I tell you that it can get much much worse.
- hackuser 10y ago
  > He is not clay, of course, but his policies and ideas can be softened. What makes you say this? I don't agree and I've seen no sign of it, from mid-2015 until now. Has anyone softened them? There are two options: A) Advise him: There's a tiny chance you'll affect his policies, but there's a certainty that you will empower him by giving him your credibility. On a selfish level, he will devour that credibility, because he can only discredit you in return. B) Oppose him: Your advice and resources will help the opposition slow or stop Trump, and you will give them credibility (which will enhance your own credibility). I strongly believe B will accomplish far more good than A.
  - molmalo 10y ago
    I know it's counterfactual history... but what if his only advisers would have been fanatics? Seeing his rhetoric in the campaign, with a full radicalized Trump, I guess the ban would have been much larger, including many other countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon, etc). And the same could be applied to other issues: e.g. exit NAFTA altogether overnight instead of renegotiating.
    - hackuser 10y ago
      Is the argument really that 'it could be worse'? I guess that argument theoretically can be used anywhere, but then what does it mean? Arguably, it's never been worse. My strong belief is that lack of opposition makes things much worse than lack of advice. As a side note, one radical advisor people are forgetting about in this discussion is National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
      - molmalo 10y ago
        The argument is that giving up and leaving, is the best way to have a more radicalized group leading the country, and that will result in even worse policies. You don't want to have a POTUS with majority control of the Congress and a friendly SCOTUS, to be fully radicalized. But that is what you'll get if their only advisers left are the ones wanting him to rule like that.
    - dustinblake 10y ago
      And the only reason why the ban doesn't encompass those countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc.) is because Trump has business dealings there.

molmalo 10y ago

He is not clay, of course, but his policies and ideas can be softened. But that won't happen if the people who can talk to him behind closed doors, where they can be truly honest about what they think, just leave! If the ones who can tell him to his face that he is wrong with something quit, you can't expect this to get any better, and believe me when I tell you that it can get much much worse.

hackuser 10y ago
> He is not clay, of course, but his policies and ideas can be softened. What makes you say this? I don't agree and I've seen no sign of it, from mid-2015 until now. Has anyone softened them? There are two options: A) Advise him: There's a tiny chance you'll affect his policies, but there's a certainty that you will empower him by giving him your credibility. On a selfish level, he will devour that credibility, because he can only discredit you in return. B) Oppose him: Your advice and resources will help the opposition slow or stop Trump, and you will give them credibility (which will enhance your own credibility). I strongly believe B will accomplish far more good than A.
- molmalo 10y ago
  I know it's counterfactual history... but what if his only advisers would have been fanatics? Seeing his rhetoric in the campaign, with a full radicalized Trump, I guess the ban would have been much larger, including many other countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon, etc). And the same could be applied to other issues: e.g. exit NAFTA altogether overnight instead of renegotiating.
  - hackuser 10y ago
    Is the argument really that 'it could be worse'? I guess that argument theoretically can be used anywhere, but then what does it mean? Arguably, it's never been worse. My strong belief is that lack of opposition makes things much worse than lack of advice. As a side note, one radical advisor people are forgetting about in this discussion is National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
    - molmalo 10y ago
      The argument is that giving up and leaving, is the best way to have a more radicalized group leading the country, and that will result in even worse policies. You don't want to have a POTUS with majority control of the Congress and a friendly SCOTUS, to be fully radicalized. But that is what you'll get if their only advisers left are the ones wanting him to rule like that.
  - dustinblake 10y ago
    And the only reason why the ban doesn't encompass those countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc.) is because Trump has business dealings there.