[LeatherTrumpet]

Donald Trump continues to confound those who regard
his very presence in the White House as an affront to democracy and decency.
The US president’s detractors never thought he would win
the Republican nomination, and then were convinced he
could not possibly triumph in a presidential election.

When he did both, they said his star would crash to
earth in the mid-term elections. But they were wrong
about that, too. While the Democrats did win control
of the House of Representatives, the Republicans consolidated
their grip on the Senate.

Mr Trump, with customary braggadocio, claimed victory
and declared himself to be a “magic” president, based
on the statistic that in 105 years only five times has
an incumbent won seats in a mid-term Senate race.
But it was much more complicated than he would like to make out.

The Democrats, after a wretched couple of years,
can build on electoral success in the lower House
and stymie the President’s legislation, bringing stalemate
to Capitol Hill. But Mr Trump can point to the fact that
wherever he campaigned, Republicans won.
His chances of securing a second term –
again, something that his critics considered inconceivable –
now looks more likely than not. Moreover, it suits his brand
of politics for the Democrats to block his legislative plans.
He will spend the next two years bringing forward tax cuts
and immigration controls and daring the Democrats to vote them down.

He has laid a trap that his opponents seem unable to avoid,
and nor do they yet have a leader able to develop
a coherent counterblast to Mr Trump’s populist identity politics.

The great danger for the Democrats is that they
now lurch leftwards, leaving Mr Trump to move into
the centre as the next presidential election approaches,
having shored up his base. For that he needs to rely on a
continued economic boom.

This was a theme the president avoided for much
of the campaign, preferring to focus on immigration.
But enough Americans evidently felt prosperous
enough to let him get away with his divisive
rhetoric and wreck the Democrats’ hopes of a
“blue wave”. Ironically, Mr Trump risks throwing
away his best card by pursuing his ill-judged trade war.
He likes to think he is uniquely brilliant; but as a former
presidential advisor once remarked, what matters most
is still the economy, stupid.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/...8/trumps-trap/

Looks like he has them by the short and curlies?

[Toy Soldier]

We live in a changed political time; the outcome of the next Presidential election depends entirely on the Democrat's presidential candidate and their mass appeal. A fresh-faced, likeable and charismatic candidate will stand a very high chance of winning. A bore or another one of "the old guard" will flop like last night's pasta. Politics (especially American politics) is a show these days and Trump is a showman, and will continue to win that battleground until he's up against another showman.

[Toy Soldier]

The same applies to UK politics btw in my very strong opinion. If one of the parties offers up a genuinely warm, funny, personable prime minister at the time of a GE they will see an absolutely massive jump in votes. And probably turnout.

[LeatherTrumpet]

like a Macron type?

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

like a Macron type?

Maybe, though in the US tbh to create a huge buzz it would have to be an established celebrity. If Donald Trump had been... Donald Smith... a career politician but everything else (appearance, policies, soundbytes) all identical to Trump he wouldn't have gotten near to being a candidate, let alone won the presidential election. The power of a celebrity brand in the US seems to be absolutely massive.

That said I don't think the same actually applies in the UK, I suspect UK voters would be very sceptical if Ian Beale or Jay off The Inbetweeners suddenly turned around and tried to enter high-level politics. It seems to be frowned upon if celebrities even start making political commentary .


... ... ... I'm not really sure why I chose Ian Beale and Jay from The Inbetweeners as my two examples of charismatic celebrities tbf. What is my mindset this morning

[Livia]

For me, Trump has taken away any dignity attached to the office of President. George W was a jerk, but Trump is in a different league of jerkery, he's much more dangerous and divisive and he's changed for the worse the way the rest of the world views the USA.

[LeatherTrumpet]

The Democrats seem not to have a scooby doo what/who to put up against him

[Livia]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

The Democrats seem not to have a scooby doo what/who to put up against him

Michelle Obama.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Livia

Michelle Obama.

Confirmed she is never going to Run.
has not got the Energy needed

[Livia]

Originally Posted by arista

Confirmed she is never going to Run.
has not got the Energy needed

I don't know about not having enough energy... and I know she's said she wouldn't run... but what a president she'd make.

[Alf]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

We live in a changed political time; the outcome of the next Presidential election depends entirely on the Democrat's presidential candidate and their mass appeal. A fresh-faced, likeable and charismatic candidate will stand a very high chance of winning. A bore or another one of "the old guard" will flop like last night's pasta. Politics (especially American politics) is a show these days and Trump is a showman, and will continue to win that battleground until he's up against another showman.

If they want to stand a chance they need to stop with the identity politics, people have had a gut full of it and won't stand for it anymore.

[bitontheslide]

There were a lot of events and circumstances that led to the Trump win. People were fed up with stereotypical politicians and with Trump, they got what they voted for. Who is to say he shouldnt be in office when thats what enough people voted for. Boris is probably a close equivalent here. He is more of a celebrity than a politician and I think he will take a lot of stopping if he chooses to exercise his political ambitions, and I think he will.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

There were a lot of events and circumstances that led to the Trump win. People were fed up with stereotypical politicians and with Trump, they got what they voted for. Who is to say he shouldnt be in office when thats what enough people voted for. Boris is probably a close equivalent here. He is more of a celebrity than a politician and I think he will take a lot of stopping if he chooses to exercise his political ambitions, and I think he will.

He is solely responsible for Brexit imo, Farage would never have got it over the line