Who will be the GOP nominee?

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

There is a difference between polling data on Trump 2023 and Bush 2015.  If you support Trump after everything, than their is literally nothing that would cause you to stop supporting him.  And it would be equally impossible for him to gain support from those who oppose him.  The Haley vs DeSantos numbers can move but Trump's numbers are fixed.

[Phishfan]

There is a difference between polling data on Trump 2023 and Bush 2015.  If you support Trump after everything, than their is literally nothing that would cause you to stop supporting him.  And it would be equally impossible for him to gain support from those who oppose him.  The Haley vs DeSantos numbers can move but Trump's numbers are fixed.

I said the same about Hillary when she ran. I don't know why the Democrats didn't try harder to push a different option.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I said the same about Hillary when she ran. I don't know why the Democrats didn't try harder to push a different option.

1. That’s not true.  Clinton’s support was adversely affected by the email issue.  Her support was considerably more fluid in 2015 than Trump’s is in 2023.

2.  Clinton won the popular vote in in 2016.  She was HATED by Republicans, but she wasn’t unpopular among independents. 

[Phishfan]

1. That’s not true.  Clinton’s support was adversely affected by the email issue.  Her support was considerably more fluid in 2015 than Trump’s is in 2023.

2.  Clinton won the popular vote in in 2016.  She was HATED by Republicans, but she wasn’t unpopular among independents. 

Winning a popular vote means nothing. She lost the swing states that the Democrats need to win. That's where you need to look at votes.

[Spider-Dan]

Let's stay on topic, please.  This thread should not be derailed into another discussion about Hillary.

[Dave Gray]

D4L, Desantis is running.  He's running right now.  He may never announce that he's running so that he doesn't have to step down for the governorship, but the reason he's in Ohio and Japan is because he's literally running for president right now.  There are ads attacking him for that very reason.

I don't know how COVID will play out in the GOP primary, if at all.

I would have thought that Desantis would've come out on top but I don't know -- I just don't think I can put myself in the head of a GOP voter.

My first thought is that COVID isn't an issue that people care about.  The politics of that is over, so it really seems like the issue of the previous elections, not this one.
But even if it were, Desantis did some basic lockdowns and then let up and the narrative was that Florida was open for business.  It doesn't really make sense to attack him from the right.  Trump's position on COVID is too weak.

[Dave Gray]

I saw somewhere that Trump was refusing to debate in any GOP primaries and I think that is 100% the right call on his part.  He has nothing to gain and it will only elevate his opponents.  I think that Trump should just treat this like he's the incumbent and pretend like the rest are fighting for VP and cabinet scraps.

[CF DolFan]

I saw somewhere that Trump was refusing to debate in any GOP primaries and I think that is 100% the right call on his part.  He has nothing to gain and it will only elevate his opponents.  I think that Trump should just treat this like he's the incumbent and pretend like the rest are fighting for VP and cabinet scraps.

I think he would lose support among the GOP. Part of his attraction is being tough and standing up to everyone so ducking competition would really lesson that view. Ad in the fact he would attack from Twitter and he would just become a keyboard troll.

[Spider-Dan]

I think he would lose support among the GOP. Part of his attraction is being tough and standing up to everyone so ducking competition would really lesson that view.

Not really.  All Trump has to do is complain about biased anti-Trump moderators (which is what he will do for any moderator to the left of Newsmax, including Fox News).  The GOP electorate is extremely receptive to that kind of argument.

It is also worth noting that this is exactly what Trump will do for any general election debates.  I doubt anyone would claim that such an action would hurt Trump among his GOP base.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I think he would lose support among the GOP. Part of his attraction is being tough and standing up to everyone so ducking competition would really lesson that view. Ad in the fact he would attack from Twitter and he would just become a keyboard troll.

So your contention is that there is a portion of Republicans for which:

Trump bragging about sexual assault - not a reason to stop supporting Trump.
Trump breaking with the long standing Republican position of opposing Russia and cozying up with Putin.  - not a reason to stop supporting Trump.
Trump lying about the election and inciting an attempted coup - not a reason to stop supporting Trump.
Trump stealing Top Secret documents and then lying about it - not a reason to stop supporting Trump.
Trump refusing to participate in a debate moderated by those he claims are Trump haters - reason to stop supporting Trump.

At this point Trump's statement "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and wouldn't lose any voters" is 100% accurate.  If you still support him at this point, there is literally nothing he could do to lose your vote.   

[Spider-Dan]

Are we still even pretending Tiny D (which more and more people are calling him, I hear) has a chance in this race?  Dude is crashing and burning.

The polls are terrible, the coverage is terrible, and the only response he ever has to any hard questions - "the woke media is pushing their biased agenda again" - has no gravity outside of hardcore conservatives, the vast majority of whom prefer Trump anyway.

I said it before and I'll say it again: Ron DeSantis is Scott Walker.  He's a big tough guy when he's using overwhelming majorities in the state house to drop anvils on people he doesn't like, but the moment he sets foot outside of his home state, he turns into a wax statue and starts melting everywhere.

[CF DolFan]

Tiny D is 6' tall so what does that make the other 85% of the men in this country? LOL.  I don't think it's catching on as much as you like. Well, at least outside of liberal unicorn country where they are are trying to latch onto anything negative regarding the GOP regardless of how silly. Maybe DeSantis was  secretly caught having prostitutes pee on him while he was in Japan?

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Tiny D is 6' tall so what does that make the other 85% of the men in this country? LOL.  I don't think it's catching on as much as you like. Well, at least outside of liberal unicorn country where they are are trying to latch onto anything negative regarding the GOP regardless of how silly. Maybe DeSantis was  secretly caught having prostitutes pee on him while he was in Japan?

Tiny D isn't a "liberal" nickname for him.  It comes from the MAGA wing.   

[Spider-Dan]

Tiny D is 6' tall

Maybe after you account for his 3-inch heels.

But I'm sure this politician wears boots because of all the time he spends on horses and not because they make him appear taller.

[CF DolFan]

Tiny D isn't a "liberal" nickname for him.  It comes from the MAGA wing.  

I get that Trump said it but it really isn't being thrown around by the average GOP person. There is a small fringe of Trump supporters who would eat shit if he told them too.

Maybe after you account for his 3-inch heels.

But I'm sure this politician wears boots because of all the time he spends on horses and not because they make him appear taller.

LOL ... I stood next to him at Bike Week and looked him in his eyes. I'm 6' as well. In fact it's Trump who wears wedges in his shoes and higher heels to appear taller and intimidate.

All that aside Trump has issues. I recently had a conversation with a guy who is pretty extreme in his views as far as being a MAGA Patriot. He was complaining about how Trump has been given millions from Disney and Anheuser-Busch and that he and his son have revealed their true colors by supporting them. Apparently it's hard to keep people convinced you are draining the swamp when you show you are sold out to people as well. I fully expect this will become a bigger issue for him.