6 ms·

I never understood why Trump thought it was a good idea to become President. He has such a history of shady deals and corruption, why put all of that into such

I never understood why Trump thought it was a good idea to become President. He has such a history of shady deals and corruption, why put all of that into such public scrutiny? If you are up to no good, the presidency is one of the worst things you could hope to win.

ojbyrne 9y ago
Ego means you do stupid things. Seems like Obama’s mild ribbing a few years ago was the impetus.
- braderhart 9y ago
  This makes him vulnerable to blackmail and other things. It is a huge national security risks and in fact I am pretty sure why the USA was formed in the first place, was in the best interests and security of the citizens.
  - AckSyn 9y ago
    I see common talking points being parroted but no substance to them. Wild claims like these, without evidences, should be frowned upon here.
rdiddly 9y ago
I don't think he ever thought he would win.
- jorblumesea 9y ago
  That's almost certainly true, but why risk it in the chance you did win? Your sketchy family business is now under the purview of the public, which is exactly what is happening now.
  - adamrezich 9y ago
    What evidence is this assertion you and your parent comment are making based on?
    - jorblumesea 9y ago
      Trump's scandals and corruption goes back decades, at least to the 90s. He has clear ties to elements of the criminal world and money laundering enterprises. His business empire shows up in the panama papers. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trump-panama/ https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trum... You literally shine a light on almost anything he's done and something criminally suspicious shows up. The more you look into it, the more unbelievable it becomes that he isn't knee deep in something illegal. Exactly what, no one is sure, but if your business empire is run in a shady manner, why on earth would you want to be one of the most scrutinized person on the planet? Only logical conclusion is that he never intended to win.
      - adamrezich 9y ago
        Sorry, I wasn't clear; I was asking what the basis was for the assumption both you and your parent comment were making here: >I don't think [Trump] ever thought he would win [the 2016 US Presidential election]. >That's almost certainly true, Things like this get tossed around a lot, presumptions about the thought processes of others, specifically public figures. The parent comment to yours at least couched the assertion in an "I think," but you went on to reply, "That's almost certainly true," as though you have some sort of intimate understanding of the President's thought process that the rest of us aren't privy to. I feel that these sort of careless assertions bring down the quality of discourse in general, but here on HN specifically.
        jorblumesea 9y ago
        It's not really a controversial idea that no one thought Trump was going to win, including himself. Look at the state of his campaign, he didn't even have a cabinet worked out or any kind of transition plan. The first 100 days were a complete mess with people cobbled together from random areas of his life. The Michael Wolff book lays it out pretty clearly about what the thought process was at the time. If you look at the situation, they were not expecting a win at all. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-f... Not really sure what you're looking for, this is politics not computer science. You'll never get a sigma six answer for any of this. That's about as close as you're going to get in politics for any "fact".
ehvatum 9y ago
All the right people hate Trump. It's as asset to him. He clearly courts and benefits from the silly moral outrage peddled against him. The same people outraged by Trump's consensual sex advocate every conceivable form of sexual deviance, oppose public exposure to the Ten Commandments, embrace and promote Islam, and they outright despise Middle America, our culture, values, and us as human beings. The arbiters of tolerance have less than none for Trump or anything he does, nor do they tolerate his supporters. This creates division, cleaving off such a large portion of the electorate that Trump became president simply by painting himself as a regular Joe billionaire who is oppressed by the left. That's why he thought it would be a good idea to run. That's why he won. Because of the closed-minded bigotry of supercilious coastal elites incapable of seeing past their self-congratulatory narcissism. I.E., exactly the attitude you are expressing. I don't mean that as an insult - I want you to understand the dynamics at play. This is how Trump's supporters feel.
- jorblumesea 9y ago
  I wasn't questioning his election. But if you have a history of shady business deals and long standing connections to less than scrupulous elements of the business world, why on earth you want to be President? It's the most scrutinized position in the world. Once you become President everyone watches your move with a microscope. For someone like Trump, who has a history of sketchy finances and dubious business practices, it seems attracting attention and investigation is the last thing you'd want. I guess critical thinking is "elitist self-congratulatory narcissism"? /s I also think it's funny that your post blasted the liberal arrogance in the most arrogant churlish way possible. Basically disproving your entire point. Nice to know that California doesn't have the condescending asshole market completely cornered ;)
  - ehvatum 9y ago
    Our discussion is centered around perception and semiotics. How is it that Trump benefits from what you perceive as a liability? To you, his past dealings and the controversy surrounding him communicate that he should not be President of the United States. Yet, these dealings and this controversy are viewed by his base as bona fides. Applying critical thinking this problem is difficult when the concept of critical thinking itself has been abducted to mean "conclusion: Trump is bad". Diversity of thought, empathy, and dignity are not afforded to Trump supporters by the left. It certainly goes both ways, as can be seen by the degree to which his supporters support him out of spite for leftist orthodoxy. The complaint that the left heaps praise on Islam and non-European culture while denegrating Christianity and European culture is very real, and there is much to convince Trump supporters of this. Trump goes far out of his way to cause multiculturalist backers of tolerance and empathy to treat his supporters with disrespect, judgement, and complete lack of empathy. Rather than fretting about who is an asshole and who is good and just, I seek to understand what is happening and why.

ojbyrne 9y ago

Ego means you do stupid things. Seems like Obama’s mild ribbing a few years ago was the impetus.

braderhart 9y ago
This makes him vulnerable to blackmail and other things. It is a huge national security risks and in fact I am pretty sure why the USA was formed in the first place, was in the best interests and security of the citizens.
- AckSyn 9y ago
  I see common talking points being parroted but no substance to them. Wild claims like these, without evidences, should be frowned upon here.

rdiddly 9y ago

I don't think he ever thought he would win.

jorblumesea 9y ago
That's almost certainly true, but why risk it in the chance you did win? Your sketchy family business is now under the purview of the public, which is exactly what is happening now.
- adamrezich 9y ago
  What evidence is this assertion you and your parent comment are making based on?
  - jorblumesea 9y ago
    Trump's scandals and corruption goes back decades, at least to the 90s. He has clear ties to elements of the criminal world and money laundering enterprises. His business empire shows up in the panama papers. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trump-panama/ https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trum... You literally shine a light on almost anything he's done and something criminally suspicious shows up. The more you look into it, the more unbelievable it becomes that he isn't knee deep in something illegal. Exactly what, no one is sure, but if your business empire is run in a shady manner, why on earth would you want to be one of the most scrutinized person on the planet? Only logical conclusion is that he never intended to win.
    - adamrezich 9y ago
      Sorry, I wasn't clear; I was asking what the basis was for the assumption both you and your parent comment were making here: >I don't think [Trump] ever thought he would win [the 2016 US Presidential election]. >That's almost certainly true, Things like this get tossed around a lot, presumptions about the thought processes of others, specifically public figures. The parent comment to yours at least couched the assertion in an "I think," but you went on to reply, "That's almost certainly true," as though you have some sort of intimate understanding of the President's thought process that the rest of us aren't privy to. I feel that these sort of careless assertions bring down the quality of discourse in general, but here on HN specifically.
      - jorblumesea 9y ago
        It's not really a controversial idea that no one thought Trump was going to win, including himself. Look at the state of his campaign, he didn't even have a cabinet worked out or any kind of transition plan. The first 100 days were a complete mess with people cobbled together from random areas of his life. The Michael Wolff book lays it out pretty clearly about what the thought process was at the time. If you look at the situation, they were not expecting a win at all. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-f... Not really sure what you're looking for, this is politics not computer science. You'll never get a sigma six answer for any of this. That's about as close as you're going to get in politics for any "fact".

ehvatum 9y ago

All the right people hate Trump. It's as asset to him. He clearly courts and benefits from the silly moral outrage peddled against him. The same people outraged by Trump's consensual sex advocate every conceivable form of sexual deviance, oppose public exposure to the Ten Commandments, embrace and promote Islam, and they outright despise Middle America, our culture, values, and us as human beings. The arbiters of tolerance have less than none for Trump or anything he does, nor do they tolerate his supporters. This creates division, cleaving off such a large portion of the electorate that Trump became president simply by painting himself as a regular Joe billionaire who is oppressed by the left. That's why he thought it would be a good idea to run. That's why he won. Because of the closed-minded bigotry of supercilious coastal elites incapable of seeing past their self-congratulatory narcissism. I.E., exactly the attitude you are expressing. I don't mean that as an insult - I want you to understand the dynamics at play. This is how Trump's supporters feel.

jorblumesea 9y ago
I wasn't questioning his election. But if you have a history of shady business deals and long standing connections to less than scrupulous elements of the business world, why on earth you want to be President? It's the most scrutinized position in the world. Once you become President everyone watches your move with a microscope. For someone like Trump, who has a history of sketchy finances and dubious business practices, it seems attracting attention and investigation is the last thing you'd want. I guess critical thinking is "elitist self-congratulatory narcissism"? /s I also think it's funny that your post blasted the liberal arrogance in the most arrogant churlish way possible. Basically disproving your entire point. Nice to know that California doesn't have the condescending asshole market completely cornered ;)
- ehvatum 9y ago
  Our discussion is centered around perception and semiotics. How is it that Trump benefits from what you perceive as a liability? To you, his past dealings and the controversy surrounding him communicate that he should not be President of the United States. Yet, these dealings and this controversy are viewed by his base as bona fides. Applying critical thinking this problem is difficult when the concept of critical thinking itself has been abducted to mean "conclusion: Trump is bad". Diversity of thought, empathy, and dignity are not afforded to Trump supporters by the left. It certainly goes both ways, as can be seen by the degree to which his supporters support him out of spite for leftist orthodoxy. The complaint that the left heaps praise on Islam and non-European culture while denegrating Christianity and European culture is very real, and there is much to convince Trump supporters of this. Trump goes far out of his way to cause multiculturalist backers of tolerance and empathy to treat his supporters with disrespect, judgement, and complete lack of empathy. Rather than fretting about who is an asshole and who is good and just, I seek to understand what is happening and why.