F'er shot to the top!

RCP has him in 6th place:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ep...blican_presidential_nomination-3823.html

no way he could be any worse for America than barack

FOX has him at 2nd.

And, he's going to raise the bar with loud,loud
white noises.

Have you lost your mind?

Not lost it, joined it. To ignore him with the mindset of today's population will be foolish.

This is frikken rich. He's going to control the show. I love it.

I hope you're right, but I doubt it. Seriously. A lot.

Where Romney would not stand up in the debates. I believe Trump will liven up the show. Hasbeen

You watch, punkin!

Some candidates better develop some F'in charisma.

Donald Trump has nothing to lose or gain and that's why he should be taken seriously.

He has the best business mind of the group and will run on a strong jobs platform.

He will also debate well, have a plan for the Homeland/ISIS and anti-big .gov.

This is NOT a paid endorsement.

At 11% he's on the stage, and that alone will change the discussion.

It's coming. We ain't even done with the players running through the cheerleaders yet.

New ballgame, Pat. Trump will trump the HS chatter.

He will also cut all this free chit that people are expecting....

He's Christie on roids!!

Does he win? I don't think so.

Does he send the puzzies home with their tails between their legs? YES!

While Trump will change the tone, the more tuned in and educated of working government will and should run circles around Trump.

He's got the rhetoric, just not the knowledge, besides business.

I dont think hell stand for being embarrassed. I expect him to drop out.

The man doesn't have a great mind. He has great balls. How many times has he risked it all and gone bankrupt? I love his honesty (?)and think it needs to be heard, but I wouldn't trust him with a buzzard egg.

Well I did not say great...I said the best of the group.

And you're right he has more balls than several combined...

Trump is most definitely a Clown. But how could he be any worse that what we've put up with for 6 years.

If he would go after Hillary with his teeth showing and call Obama a Liar, I'd be tempted to put a Trump sign in the yard...

That's for damn sure!

DW I believe that's the exact reason he entered this race. And should he make the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cut....he may keep going.

You gents are being a bit naive.

To think Trump can't play with the so called players is exactly what he pines for. He's going to OWN the timid.

Mark my words. Ballgame has changed.

Pat...I'm going to throw him a thousand bucks,okay?

I'll take a capitalist clown of a Marxist commie any day.

Publicity and ego, should be good for another three four seasons and lots of film he can playback later at home.

"See, there is me being a statesman! Is that great hair or what!"

Why? He's got $8 billion. The least we can do is make sure he's not trying to make money on this deal too. Everything he has ever done before was to that end.

Trump may attract the conservatives to his side as many of them are finished with the GOP/RNC.
Hell with the way the GOP leadership is voting, they are democrats in drag.
Trump must defeat the RNC which.....is a very tall order. I here rumblings of a Romney/Walker alliance.
But if Trump is serious and goes 3rd party, then it will be all hail to the first "female". Which may be a fete de compile anyway if you look at the electoral college map.

Football, meet Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown, meet football.

Haven't I seen this movie somewhere before?

Sycamore

What does that mean???

You working with spanky now??

You're definitely the forum Lucy, Syc.

I like Trump's message. My doubts are with his commitment to win. As someone pointed out he has nothing to gain or lose, so I don't think he's going to play to win.

My guess is that Trump's goal is to get a big settlement not to go third party.

God, I hope so.

kwg

Trump will drop out before the primaries start. Just like he did in 2012.

He's in it to boost his ego.

Hey Bob, Trump's a gambler right? There's pretty good evidence that the candidate who spends the most wins. He has $8 billion dollars and he can outspend all the other candidates from his ashtray. Why would he want your money?

I respectfully disagree. He's in this to get the 53 other losers to step up their game and place on the the stage towards a winning game plan. And if none do he will likely stay in the same game.

He's also in this to publicly call out H and O just like he did Rosey.

Pat...don't tremble and get all itchy on me.

byc,

Originally Posted By Deerwhacker444
Trump is most definitely a Clown. But how could he be any worse that what we've put up with for 6 years.

If he would go after Hillary with his teeth showing and call Obama a Liar, I'd be tempted to put a Trump sign in the yard...


DW I believe that's the exact reason he entered this race. And should he make the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cut....he may keep going.

I agree with both of you. He will sure make this election interesting.

The only thing that scares me, is his stance on the 2A. Isn't he one of the guys for "common sense restrictions" on firearms?

Myron

Trade hair dos with bruce and I'd hit it.

Right? Trump has a real history of philanthropy.

I think you mean Caitlin and I believe you.

He actually does. Maybe not to the extent of Gates and Buffet but he does....

What I would like to know is which candidate Trump would currently endorse.

I think the Republican Party is your Lucy, Isaac. Every time you start to ( or pretend to, I haven't figured that out ) root for someone, they go down in flames.

Given your track record, I will say I am heartened by your early support of the Donald.

The financial disclosure forms, if they are provided, will be fascinating, to say the least.

Good to see you posting again!

Sycamore

Funny that you choose to discuss who wins between the only two people who could win.

Did you vote for Obama when I voted for the GOP, Syc?

Don't be afraid to let us know. Most already do.

Trump would be light years ahead of the piece of filth that is in there right now. I also believe that his presence will force the G.O.P. candidates to stick to conservative fundamentals.

If he doesn't have a dead boy in the closet, what can anyone say to embarrass the man?

If the Democrats try to say he is too rich, he says, "Yeah, I'm rich, really rich. Rich enough in fact, to buy and sell your worthless asses. So tell the lobbyists and everyone else to kiss my ass. I'm not doing this for the money."

The Republicans can't say much against him as that he represents everything they are allegedly for.

If anyone tries to go after him for being inexperienced in government, he can say that he has as much experience as the current guy in charge. He can say "damned right" he is an outsider, only idiots and crooks are in today's government. He can also talk about how rich they all are and contrast how he made his money in business and they obviously made their money in government.

Hell, he was even against the Iraq war.

The man's whole life for the last two decades, at least, has been almost entirely in the public view. He relishes the attention. He has almost no secrets. There is NOTHING anyone can embarrass him about.

The other candidates are going to be reduced to rolling their eyes at some of his bombastic statements and making fun of his hair. But, it is pretty damned hard to make too much fun of someone worth $8.2 billion. The country might be surprisingly ready for his brand of populism. He is going to be an M-1 tank rolling around and blowing schit up while the other candidates are armed with only rifles.

I'm not saying he will win, but I'm not going to completely discount it either.

I do wonder how all those creditors he stiffed feel about him though

Seems pretty straight forward. Conservatives may be of a mind to ignore any RNC backed candidate. Four million stayed home in 2012.
As for Romney/Walker, that has been whispered in the past week.
I don't know who "spanky" is.

Frick man, they can't even get him on that. All he has to do is say, "I'd say this country needs someone who knows a thing or two about coming back from a bankruptcy or two."

What other GOP candidate is getting the press,front and center, fellas?

Maybe not today.

Itchy!

Folks will be upset at him for using the laws of the land in bankruptcy but as far as being a good one for the office all he has to do is get the best/right folks to run the agency of your choice.

There has never been one in office that has ran the .gov by himself.

How long has it been since the GOP has offered a presedential candidate with a great mind???

Dr. Carson win's that one hands down and he's being cut down as too soft spoken, not enough political experience, not strong enough on the 2nd.

I've long contended no candidate ever has the experience to be president, what we should seek is one who has the wisdom and character to grow into the position.

I will grab a LOT of attention. No doubt about that. BUT, he doesn't have an organization. If you don't have one pretty quick in the majority of the states it's going to be tough to make the finals. What I like about him is he'll stir some of the other guys testosterone up a notch or two, which they need.

If they haven't had the moxie to this point, it's all for showing in the polls.

I've read your stuff here over the years and can only come to one conclusion.


You're not a dumb guy. Well said.


I'm having a hard time seeing Trump as POTUS, but I do think he livens up what's being discussed in a good way.


sides if he was really gonna win it, he wouldn't have isaac backing him.


kiss of death in politics, was kinda hopin Bob was for Hilary, that'd fix her wagon

plainsman456,

"There has never been one in office that has ran the .gov by himself."

Except Obwan ! (He has his pen and his phone, remember?)

Myron

Or three.


Or four.


Sycamore

Generally, the more you do something, the better you get at it.

Perhaps, but I think the object is to NOT get into bankruptcy.

Sycamore

That's a fact. The big question is..."What's in it for him"?

Did he turn patriotic over night?

Trump is a self promoting buffoon, and is doing this for no other reason than to garner publicity. It astonishes me that anyone would take him seriously.

Dood...you can't say that. It's gotta be racist...or something.

Trump carries two Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldogs.

His own personal business interest first and foremost for sure. He hates China and entitlements.

However, if he thinks he can win and do a better job than the other baboons up there then game on!!

It's my guess that he has a mufti-facted agenda.

I like his style.
A refreshing change from the same old lies and promises they have no intention of keeping but I don't want him as president,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,unless the only option is Hildabeast.
Eight more years of liberal socialist rule and America is truly doomed IMO.

Man inherited 35 million dollars and turned it into 8 billion and people are calling him dumb. We currently have a potus that would lose money on a lemonade stand in the middle of the Sahara desert, Who has still not learned how to negotiate and has evidently hired people who possess the same skillset.


Priceless

I can live with that. Show me the money. He has it to burn.

You can't say dood here. That's white racism!!

It is highly possible that Bob suffers from the blind hog syndrome.. There is an acorn in the AO.

Donald Trump will not win the election... UNLESS HE WANTS TO!

We will see.

It is good to not hear any of the thirteen candidates being belittled by those of the party.. That is refreshing and the only chance to defeat the left.

g

Trump's kids kill stuff, so they can't be all that bad....

The thought of Trump nominating Supremes scares the heck out of me. It would be better than Hillary's choice (probably), but worse than any Conservative.

The nightmare scenario is Trump hangs in there through the primaries, does not get the nomination, and runs in the general election as an independent. He would siphon off enough of a percentage from Republicans that Clinton would win....kind of like Ross Perot Mark 2.

And no, I don't think buffoon has been labeled as racist yet, course the day is young.

Last thought...if he were to somehow get elected would comb-overs become the new fad?

Trump jumped 2 points in the polls overnight.

Honest straight talk, even if BS, seems to stimulate the masses.

"Honest straight talk, even if BS"?

How the fug does that work?

It works, in my opinion, because the candidates can't dodge the discussion, or dance around it.

If anything, Trump forces the dialogue.

I won't argue there.

I know a guy who has a relative who works for Trump - and sez (only to my friend) that Trump's the biggest a-hole he's ever known or worked for..

At the same time - maybe that's exactly what the GOP needs to get them off their worthless, collective azzes..

I'm not sure about that.. How'd the last couple GOP nominations go? IIRC, one of 'em gave us the ACA..

No doubt he has a set of balls, if you don't think so he'll probably show em to ya..

Hell, I like his ideas. Instead of an all out boots on the ground war, just cut the $$$ and starve them to death.

If Mexico can't control it's citizens from jumping the fence, starve their ass. Fantastic!

If China don't come around... You get the picture

I can't imagine Trump being interested in having the job of presidency dictate his every waking moment for the next 4 years, much less 8.

I also see corruption charges in about 30 seconds as he uses his presidential power to swing influence toward his business strategies. Trump wouldn't even see that as being ethically wrong.

It would be fun to him and a challenge. It's the one thing he doesn't already have.. Why not?

His business will go to his kids. They're ready, and they won't have to change the name..

you really have that much faith he'll walk away from a billion dollar business empire for 4 years minimum?

Hell no, he'll still be in charge where it counts.

Eight billion.

one of my best friends who put himself through eye dr school working for me, married a nice philly girl who's mother works for trump. my brother and i have open invites to any fights at his place in atlantic city. i haven't gone but john has three times to watch title fights, has never cost him anything but airfare. So i don't think he's all that bad if he allows his employes perks like that.

when you have that kind of wealth, everything is not always about the money.

damn right, its a simple solution.

Here is an example of the kind of headlines Donald will have to answer...
Trump endorses Clinton
Donald Trump Says Bill Clinton Was Best, Classiest President Ever, Too Bad About Hillary’s Age

I don't see how he could effectively do both

Here is another example of the kind of headlines Donald will have to answer...
Wealthy Hillary Clinton Donor Enters 2016 Race, Vows to Run to Her Left on Trade
BY: Andrew Stiles
Prominent businessman and Hillary Clinton donor Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was entering the 2016 presidential race. Trump, who donated to Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign and has given at least $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation, is a controversial figure.

One would like to think, but in my experience, nobody becomes that wealthy unless it is, indeed, all about the money. And that's cool, but it is what it is.

A huge mega-ego doesn't negate the fact that he has a brilliant mind for business and probably a sixth sense for smelling deals.

The huge ego creates huge self confidence which is good for risking all with an assurance of winning, or if you lose, an assurance that you'll win it all back.

But IMO he would be a disaster as a President. A completely self centered asswhole with a huge ego and an all or nothing attitude is not my idea of a responsible leader. Unless we got into a large scale war when that's a good leader. And he would probably get us into a war with China or Russia or both just over some matter that offended his ego.

He'll make fun headlines and inject some humor and energy into the dog and pony show that is American Politics but hopefully he doesn't screw it up too much for guys who might actually make decent Presidents.


Or I could be completely wrong.

I want a President who will nurture an economy that allows business to succeed. I want a President who will present a foreign policy based on strength and confidence, not appeasement. I want a President who pretty much leaves everything else - everybody's little distracting hot button issues - to the people and Congress to hash out. Business acumen and confidence presented to the world with a "who gives a sh*t about your petty little concerns" attitude toward everybody else - Donald could do that. It would certainly be interesting to see him in action at a major summit with Putin or other world leaders.

I never would have thought an actor would be a good President to bring us out of the hangover of the VietNam years and the sick economy of the 70's, but Reagan was just that. So you never know, maybe Donald is the right guy at the right time to repair the damage that Obama created.

In any case, he'll make good theater.

Concealed carry in the comb-over?

"the more tuned in and educated of working government"

That's an asset?? That's a problem to me with our current corrupt government.

I think it will be fun to have Trump in the debates.

While everybody else is parroting the party line and trying not to offend the SJW's, Trump will just up and piss on everybody's shoes.

It would also be good if he hollered out "bullshit" 8 or 10 times during a debate.

I truly believe a man can get elected in America today just by hollerin' out "bullshit" at the proper time.

Given the line up of career politicians on stage, Trump would be hoarse halfway through the first debate doing just that.

I think you have nailed it.


Trump’s Running—but the Joke’s on You

However much The Donald is worth, after he’s done with this so-called presidential campaign, he’s going to have a lot more.

Donald Trump says he’s really rich—worth nearly $9 billion ($8,737,540,000 to be exact). Forbes estimates that he’s worth less than half that much, around $4 billion. Does it matter? The answer is definitively no, because once the Donald Trump presidential charade is over he’s gonna be worth much more than $8 billion—and worth every penny of it.

I have to say up front I’ve known Trump for years and I like him even if much of his presidential announcement speech had my skin crawling. (Describing many Mexican immigrants as “rapists” is at the top of my list.) But I have long appreciated Trump’s resilience both in business and in his personal life; anyone who remembers the early 1990s vintage Trump, when he was both mocked as a business has-been and was by some estimates insolvent, also knows that more recently his name and brand keeps getting bigger and his wives keep getting hotter.

All of which leads me to believe that this man—who needs to brag about his wealth and intelligence like most people need to breathe—is looking at this presidential thing like he looks at everything else: how to make a brand that’s big and profitable even more so.

For the record, I don’t know how much Donald Trump is worth, and in the past he has been touchy when reporters have challenged his fortune’s size. (He sued one reporter who quoted unnamed sources saying Trump was merely worth hundreds of millions instead of billions for libel. In 2011, a New Jersey appellate judge dismissed the case, saying Trump failed to prove “actual malice.”)

Even so, every Wall Street firm I covered wanted Trump’s business as he pulled himself back from his near-death experience in the early 1990s, when some of his Atlantic City properties filed for bankruptcy. Trump himself never filed for bankruptcy, which is probably why, as he began to rebuild himself, his Wall Street broker was none other than the late Alan “Ace” Greenberg, the legendary stock trader who only handled accounts of the megawealthy.




Donald Trump isn’t really running for president; he’s running to make more money and enhance a brand that’s bigger than his real-estate holdings and golf courses.

To be sure, in his announcement speech Trump offered scant evidence that he’s worth what he says he is; indeed, he has just filed the standard forms with the Federal Election Commission, which will start a more-intensive vetting process over his financial disclosures.

Those forms are pretty exhaustive, I might add; just go to the website of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and take a look at what candidates need to disclose and you’ll understand why rich people generally don’t run for president. Candidates are required to disclose, in detail, assets and income, then transactions and gifts and travel reimbursements. Another layer of detail involves disclosing liabilities and something called “agreements or arrangements.”

Lastly, presidential candidates must disclose “positions (other than with the U.S. government)” and “sources of income in excess of $5,000.” This is why Karl Rove said on Fox News Sunday that other candidates should “ignore” Trump until he files with the FEC, which he did late Monday afternoon.

Trump fired back on Twitter: “@KarlRove still thinks Romney won! He doesn’t have a clue! @FoxNews,” and in another he vowed to make his initial financial disclosures this week: “@KarlRove, who spent $430 million in the last cycle and didn’t win one race, said I’m not a candidate until I file papers. Next week Karl!”

Trump’s campaign manager told me that the full disclosure will be completed in 30 days; Trump, he said, won’t seek extensions as Rove and others have predicted.

We shall see. In any event, like Rove, I had my doubts that Trump would go through with the whole disclosure process. What I never doubted is that he loves the attention because the debate over the net worth of the new and improved Donald Trump no longer turns on the vagaries of the real-estate market but on the value of his brand.





Keep in mind much of the difference between the Forbes net worth estimate and Trump’s own, which he says was compiled by “highly respected” accountants, is the value of the Trump brand, which Forbes says isn’t worth the $3 billion-plus Trump says it is.

But how do you really value a brand? Brands are worth what people think they’re worth, and when you’re name is everywhere from hotels and apartments buildings to reality TV, it’s easy to see how the numbers add up and will keep adding up as he does this presidential dance that, quite frankly, is amazing reality television.

That’s why I have no doubt that Trump will turn this new “serious” stage of his life into a business winner. The way I see it, Donald Trump isn’t really running for president; he’s running to make more money and enhance a brand that’s bigger than his real-estate holdings and golf courses. And with the people who matter to him the most, it doesn’t get cheapened by occasionally disgusting rhetoric about immigrants or possible exaggerations about his wealth.

He’s playing to his fans and there are many millions of them. They like him on television and they like his real estate and golf courses. Another bet: I don’t think Donald will run for president after all, regardless of Monday’s FEC filing, or even if he does make those detailed financial disclosures and somehow gins up enough publicity to get into the first GOP debate in August.

In the end, I think he will call it quits because, after awhile, Donald is going to realize he’s squeezed all the marketing juice out of the presidential lemon that is possible, and anything more will end up hurting, not helping, one of the world’s great brands.

He knows that, and that’s why he’s so rich.

Good read. Dunno if I agree, but I definitely don't disagree strongly. I think Isaac is partly right, and some of the others here too.

Fact is, if Trump stays in the hunt long enough (say, into the first round or two of debates) he's going to expose the rest of the politicians in the race as idiots, demagogues, and whores. He may even expose Hillary for the felon that she is at a level that the MSM is squirming to ignore, but will not be able to any longer under the weight of a Trump attack.

But bottom line, I don't know and I don't much care. I'm going to make up my mind about who I'll vote for in mid-October next year, and until then nothing I think, do, or say is going to have much impact on the process.

Yet no mention of the Clinton or Bush legacy "brand"?

We have little control over deciding the fate of Trump. The RINO Republican National Committee has the power over who is the nominee...

Actually, as many here acknowledge, the RINO's are the real Republican Party while we are the hopeful outsiders gullible to their bait and switch. Pressure to make the party more honestly conservative is growing but I don't know if it can be done.

What I can't stand are the same political whores that run year after year when they they know they have no chance of winning. Satorum, Graham, Huckaby.

It shouldn't be that way.

They should hold caucuses, primaries, and let people vote and stuff.

wait a sec....

I could be wrong but I believe this is Graham's first shot at running for POTUS.

I already made up my mind and I wrote to Donald pledging my vote if he is the candidate.

Notwithstanding some of his personal peccadillos, he is perhaps the most courageous and outspoken truth teller in history.

At his station in life he does not need all of the aggravations accompanying a politician.

I say hands the reigns to him and let him straighten out our country. It will be a better place.