Will Trump See Covid-19 as an Opportunity?

[CORed]

The first time I ever heard about Presidential Derangement Syndrome it was Clinton Derangement Syndrome. However, for the varieties labelled Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Hillary (an honorary title), it was just a mildly sarcastic was of saying, "Oh, get over it. Not everything bad is caused by (insert politician's name here)".

But with Trump Derangement Syndrome, I think it really has reached the level of mental illness for some people.

Is the OP author one of those? Well, that depends. Was the OP meant to be taken seriously? Then yes. The idea that Donald Trump is going to declare himself dictator is simply nuts.


Uhmmmm…..let me revise slightly. The idea that Donald Trump will successfully declare himself dictator is simply nuts. I don't know what goes on in his head. He might just imagine that he could do it, but no. Even with a Coronavirus pandemic going on, there will still be elections, and Donald Trump will still respect the results of those elections.

I shiver to think what he might do during his lame duck period, but come January 20, 2025, there will be a President of the United States, and he won't be named Donald Trump. Hopefully, January 20, 2021, but that's not as easy to foretell.

I have a little fantasy. I'm going to say that it most likely won't happen. If Trump loses the election this year, I fully expect him to rant and rave about voter fraud and whatnot, but when January 20, 2021 rolls around, he'll begrudgingly leave the White House. But my fantasy is, that he refuses to leave, and keeps barking out orders that everybody politely refuses to follow. He shouts louder and louder. Everyone ignores him. He picks up the phone and orders an airstrike against the Capitol. The military officer simply says, "You're not the President anymore, Mr. Trump. I can't do that. " Eventually, the Secret Service, Parks Police or whoever, carry him out the door, kicking and screaming, and unceremoniously dump him in the street. I don't think he's (quite) stupid enough to let it go down this way, but I would relish it if it did.

 

[theprestige]

"I wish Trump would act out in the ways I always imagined he'd act out" is definitely a mood.

When Trump leaves office and the country is still right where Obama left it, some of us will say, "huh, all that heartburn for nothing."

And others of us will say, "yeah, but in my head he's still the WoRsT PrEsiDeNt EvEr! That's all that matters!"

 

[TragicMonkey]

He may not have to do anything.
Covid-19 is bound to kill at least one of the Supreme Court judges for him:

Forget Covid, what about Covidfefe?

 

[cullennz]

You have not seen the damage his doing in the US.

Which damage in particular?

 

[cullennz]

So let us assume that Trump narrowly loses the election in November. He declares that he will not leave office for some reason. The president elect manages to get sworn in anyway, then directs the Secret Service to evict Trump from the White House. Bloodless or not?

Ranb

I have been saying he will be re-elected for the last 2 - 3 years.

I am usually right about these things.

And it will be hilarious to read the board afterwards.

 

[Cabbage]

The part where Trump goes full retard.

Do you think he could succeed in what would amount to a coup? No, he couldn't. Do you think he doesn't know he couldn't succeed? Of course he knows. Do you think he doesn't know that he would pay a price for trying and failing? Again, of course he knows. So even with the worst reading of Trump's motives, why would he do something so obviously self-destructive?

That's funny, none of that seemed to cause him even a passing thought when he asked a foreign govt to investigate a political rival. Do you think he doesn't feel like his Republican enablers can obstruct and obfuscate enough to let him get away with lots of things? That's been the pattern so far, why the hell should he stop now?

Let me also remind you: Suppose for the moment that the rumors are true and that he has been involved in Russian money laundering for decades, and that he knows that once he's out of office and no longer has the protection of the presidency around him, indictments are coming. So even if he does nothing when he loses the election he will have prices to pay for his crimes. You don't think the desperation to keep the protection of the presidency around him might lead him to do unwise things?

 

[dann]

"I wish Trump would act out in the ways I always imagined he'd act out" is definitely a mood.

When Trump leaves office and the country is still right where Obama left it, some of us will say, "huh, all that heartburn for nothing."

And others of us will say, "yeah, but in my head he's still the WoRsT PrEsiDeNt EvEr! That's all that matters!"

This sounds like a betting opportunity: If I understand you correctly, you're saying that if Trump isn't reelected in November, he is going to be all presidential about it, congratulate the new guy, leave voluntarily and not write a single tweet about how the election was rigged against him.

 

[dann]

Forget Covid, what about Covidfefe?

Oh man, he's genuinely prescient, and we never gave him the respect he deserves!

 

[Cain]

I have a little fantasy. I'm going to say that it most likely won't happen. If Trump loses the election this year, I fully expect him to rant and rave about voter fraud and whatnot, but when January 20, 2021 rolls around, he'll begrudgingly leave the White House. But my fantasy is, that he refuses to leave, and keeps barking out orders that everybody politely refuses to follow. He shouts louder and louder. Everyone ignores him. He picks up the phone and orders an airstrike against the Capitol. The military officer simply says, "You're not the President anymore, Mr. Trump. I can't do that. " Eventually, the Secret Service, Parks Police or whoever, carry him out the door, kicking and screaming, and unceremoniously dump him in the street. I don't think he's (quite) stupid enough to let it go down this way, but I would relish it if it did.

I've said this before, but I think it's likely that in the event Trump loses, he'll kick and scream as you said, rant and rave, and then... resign. If he technically remains in office, I do not see him welcoming a successor for the tour or attending the inauguration. In other words, he's not going to be there until the bitter end. He's too embittered before all of that.

 

[Ziggurat]

Has anybody ******* claimed he would succeed or was it implied that he would at least try? Same question asked above. Save the straw to feed your horses.

Several posters have implied he might, but that's actually beside the point. My statement that he could not is simply a point that I think most of us can agree on, and a prelude to what comes next.

No, I don't think that because Trump is a narcissistic ******* moron.

I don't dispute that he's narcissistic, I've called him that myself. But the idea that he's a moron, well, you may find comfort in believing it, but it's really not true.

He believes that doing it would be what America wants. Outside of the traitors that is...

It never ceases to amuse me how proficient certain posters believe they have become at mind reading.

No, I don't think he does know that and until either you or mead provide some form of evidence to support your assertions then you're just barking nonsense.

Evidence that he's not a total ******* moron? That's abundant. He keeps winning. You want me to believe that it's all some cosmic accident. And I'm the one who is barking nonsense?

He's openly stated the opposite of what you guys are saying.

He says lots of things which aren't true. Or did you forget already?

Because he's a ******* moron.

Again, you may find comfort in that fiction, but it is just a fiction.

The kicker, though, is that if you actually believed this about how stupid Trump is and how willing to try a coup, you should be looking forward to its inevitable failure and the subsequent dismantling of his legacy, not fearing it. But I suspect you don't really believe it, this is all playing out like it's disaster porn for you.

 

[Ziggurat]

That's funny, none of that seemed to cause him even a passing thought when he asked a foreign govt to investigate a political rival.

That's not even remotely comparable.

Do you think he doesn't feel like his Republican enablers can obstruct and obfuscate enough to let him get away with lots of things? That's been the pattern so far, why the hell should he stop now?

plague311 was just accusing me of straw manning Trump criticism, but you're basically taking the position he said nobody was taking.

Let me also remind you: Suppose for the moment that the rumors are true and that he has been involved in Russian money laundering for decades, and that he knows that once he's out of office and no longer has the protection of the presidency around him, indictments are coming. So even if he does nothing when he loses the election he will have prices to pay for his crimes. You don't think the desperation to keep the protection of the presidency around him might lead him to do unwise things?

That's a very big supposition. I doubt it's true. But OK, for the sake of argument let's suppose it is true. Yes, he very well might do unwise things. Nixon did unwise things during Watergate. But he didn't declare martial law to protect himself. And Trump isn't going to try to stage a coup. Doing so would fail, and simply make everything that comes after so much worse. And again, he's not a total ******* moron. He will know this.

 

[Ziggurat]

I have been saying he will be re-elected for the last 2 - 3 years.

I am usually right about these things.

And it will be hilarious to read the board afterwards.

There will be a great weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

[Cabbage]

That's not even remotely comparable.

I never claimed they were comparable. I specifically brought it up to point out you are assuming Trump can be contemplative regarding future effects of his actions. I am simply reminding you that that conflicts with actual evidence.

plague311 was just accusing me of straw manning Trump criticism, but you're basically taking the position he said nobody was taking.

No, I am not. Read it again, for comprehension this time: I am saying that Trump has reasons to believe (the impeachment, for example) that the Republican congress will enable him. Please note, with particular care, how I am making a claim about Trump's belief regarding what he can get away with; in no way do I claim this is correlated with what he can actually get away with.

That's a very big supposition. I doubt it's true. But OK, for the sake of argument let's suppose it is true. Yes, he very well might do unwise things. Nixon did unwise things during Watergate. But he didn't declare martial law to protect himself. And Trump isn't going to try to stage a coup. Doing so would fail, and simply make everything that comes after so much worse. And again, he's not a total ******* moron. He will know this.

I'm skeptical of any argument predicated on the assumption that Trump isn't a total ******* moron.

 

[cullennz]

I have a little fantasy. I'm going to say that it most likely won't happen. If Trump loses the election this year, I fully expect him to rant and rave about voter fraud and whatnot, but when January 20, 2021 rolls around, he'll begrudgingly leave the White House. But my fantasy is, that he refuses to leave, and keeps barking out orders that everybody politely refuses to follow. He shouts louder and louder. Everyone ignores him. He picks up the phone and orders an airstrike against the Capitol. The military officer simply says, "You're not the President anymore, Mr. Trump. I can't do that. " Eventually, the Secret Service, Parks Police or whoever, carry him out the door, kicking and screaming, and unceremoniously dump him in the street. I don't think he's (quite) stupid enough to let it go down this way, but I would relish it if it did.

You mean like Clinton did in her book.

Some of the people she blamed

"James Comey
"If not for the dramatic intervention of the FBI director in the final days we would have won the White House."

Vladimir Putin
"I never imagined that he would have the audacity to launch a massive covert attack against our own democracy, right under our noses - and that he'd get away with it."

Barack Obama
"I do wonder sometimes about what would have happened if President Obama had made a televised address to the nation in the fall of 2016 warning that our democracy was under attack. Maybe more Americans would have woken up to the threat in time. "

Bernie Sanders (and his supporters)
"His attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump's 'Crooked Hillary' campaign."

Jill Stein
"There were more than enough Stein voters to swing the result, just like Ralph Nader did in Florida and New Hampshire in 2000."

Men in general
"This has to be said. Sexism and misogyny played a role in the 2016 presidential election. Exhibit A is that the flagrantly sexist candidate won."

 

[Venom]

So let us assume that Trump narrowly loses the election in November. He declares that he will not leave office for some reason. The president elect manages to get sworn in anyway, then directs the Secret Service to evict Trump from the White House. Bloodless or not?

Ranb

I bet bloodless yes.

He will go out with a proud and boastful speech saying how much he thinks he did for the country and best admin ever and step down peacefully.

 

[Venom]

You mean like Clinton did in her book.

Some of the people she blamed

Clinton is a bit of a sore loser, but Clinton isn't president.

Trump is even worse; he's a sore WINNER who can't stop taking shots at people rightfully criticizing him.

 

[Random]

Watching the Trump Press conference. Wow, he doesn't have a clue does he? OK, give it to Pence. Actually makes me feel better...

 

[Ziggurat]

I never claimed they were comparable. I specifically brought it up to point out you are assuming Trump can be contemplative regarding future effects of his actions. I am simply reminding you that that conflicts with actual evidence.

But it doesn’t. He came out of that just fine.

No, I am not. Read it again, for comprehension this time: I am saying that Trump has reasons to believe (the impeachment, for example) that the Republican congress will enable him.

You aren’t even being coherent. First you claimed he didn’t contemplate the future, now you are saying he will.

And my earlier point that you dismissed comes back here: they aren’t remotely comparable. That Republicans didn’t care that much about investigating Biden doesn’t mean they would tolerate a coup. They won’t. And everyone, including Trump, knows that.

I'm skeptical of any argument predicated on the assumption that Trump isn't a total ******* moron.

Of course. Because orange man dumb. But no skepticism is warranted for the assertion that he’s dumb, that’s axiomatic.

 

[fishbob]

Because he's a ******* moron.

No disagreement on that point, however one thing he does know is that once out of office he is not immune to indictments.
I have been sending my suck-up senators (voted for acquittal) lists of counties that do not have extradition treaties with the US, and asking that they pass these along. So far, no response.

 

[fishbob]

I've said this before, but I think it's likely that in the event Trump loses, he'll kick and scream as you said, rant and rave, and then... resign. If he technically remains in office, I do not see him welcoming a successor for the tour or attending the inauguration. In other words, he's not going to be there until the bitter end. He's too embittered before all of that.

Plus he needs time to pack up and move to his new country.
Possibly Russia but I understand Saudi Arabia has better golf courses.