The 2020 Presidential General Election thread

I don't think he is going to go too deep in the well on his thinking beyond "I'm the most unfairly treated president of all time" and "I don't want to end up in the Gray Bar Hotel."

which is very much a huge factor in how we got here.
Ford let Nixon walk > no one paid a significant price for Iran-Contra > No one even bothered to dig into the lies that set up the Iraq War and killed tens (hundreds?) of thousands > a GOP that confidently assume you can do any crime you please.

Time for that to change.

The Trump campaign must be really desperate for They’ve sent me at least 5 texts today begging for money. I might have gotten 1 from Biden.

Yup.

But I'm betting massive stroke. Or, ya know, whatever resembles the effects of a certain Russian poison.

oh there's tons of federal offenses, current and past - just a matter of whether the next DoJ will go into it.

Two more texts since then.

I'm getting a sense that there's an undercurrent of Republican resignation. There are hints that suggest internal polls are showing a very ugly picture shaping up for them. Even McConnell is putting a little distance between himself and Trump and so is Graham. Nothing concrete for sure, but I remember with less than a week to go in 1980 Jimmy Carter telling his supporters that the "issue was in doubt." Of course, he got creamed in a historic landslide. I could be totally misreading the political tea leaves, but I am starting to wonder if the Republicans have looked up and are seeing an ACME anvil about to drop on them.

ETA:

I'm fine with everyone who could bring charges against Trump SingTFU until after inauguration day though. Gotta let him think he has a way out that doesn't land him in prison or worse. Can't have him getting antsy about his prospects of prosecution, or he (or any other president facing the end of a term) might lash out in every legal and extra-legal way he can. Think Caesar debating whether or not to cross the Rubicon. Maybe afterward, all the evidence against him in prosecution for his inevitable future crimes. Or make it look like he's not going to be prosecuted, and then spring a trap later. But if so, it should appear extremely out of the ordinary, so that future Presidents don't end up in the same position.

Maybe for Trump specifically, offer him immunity for all the crimes he confesses to*. That should put him at ease. Then once he's out of office, prosecute him for the crimes he didn't confess to. There's no chance in Hell he'll confess to everything. It's not in his nature.

*perhaps we could turn this into a quadrennial/octennial tradition.

And I expect him to do it in some "one-size-fits-all" manner that probably wouldn't pass muster in a fair court (which is not the same thing as courts packed with Trump nominees), rather than for any specific crime. In fact, I expect him to word it in a way that tries to cover everything, not just federal crimes. And that will be challenged in courts, and will be overthrown (though if it gets as far as SCOTUS, I don't expect a 9-0 ruling, even though it is so obvious it should be).

The point of presidential pardons is supposed to be a way of either correcting at the highest level obvious judicial errors, or showing grace where "the letter of the law" doesn't allow it. It is not supposed to be a "get out of jail free" card for yourself and your buddies. But there has been so much abuse of it over the years that Trump and his supporters will be able to justify anything, no matter how blatant, with a "Oh yeah? What about...?"

I agree with your first paragraph completely, especially the first sentence, but couldn't rep this because of the rest. You're spot on with that first paragraph, though.

Depends on how he words it. That's the kind of thing I was talking about concerning a weasel-worded "one-size-fits-all" pardon. Something along the lines of: "Donald J. Trump is hereby pardonned for any and all crimes or misdemeanors he may have committed, and cannot be brought to trial or even questioned, by any court in the United States of America." That would not be a valid presidential pardon, but he would have to actually know what he's talking about to realize that.

At the risk of sounding like @Zombie RIP, you guys are mental if you really think Trump will be going to jail or even charged with anything.

If (and hopefully he will) get destroyed in the election, he will get put out to grass and told under no uncertain terms to keep his mouth shut. Not an easy thing for Trump to do granted, but if he is threatened with crimes and or the Epstein scenario then it will be enough for him to reign it in and go about a more modest life.

There is noway the powers that be haven't had the discussion on how to silence him when he gets the boot. This mouthpiece has access to all of Americas secrets, he will be getting the riot act read to him.

This seems a tad naive, with little understanding of the man himself. The only legal way to shut him up will be to put him in a cell. If not, he'll likely launch the Donald Trump Channel, which many people have reported was the whole point of the original run in the first place.

If he gets away with everything, he will be absolutely impossible to shut up. He'll continue the con and enrich himself on the stupidity of the right, and that will require him to constantly shout at the top of his lungs the things they want to hear.

Not to mention spill everything he knows about classified material to the Russians.

On another topic, I for one can't wait until the day after Biden is installed when Republicans suddenly realise again that bringing down the deficit is their overriding priority.

The Republican outlook on deficits is actually very simple, and the past 40 years have demonstrated it so clearly they might as well just go ahead and make it public:

"Deficits are bad under Democratic presidents."

Suddenly, the fact he doesn't pay attention at intelligence briefings doesn't seem so bad, does it?

Well, considering that Rush Limbaugh is pretty much dying, maybe Trump can take over as bloviating gasbag.

Federal charges could be iffy, but there will at least be one state AG that will charge Trump, even if it is just for optics.

he could end up on Riker's Island.

I saw somewhere (maybe here?) that could well happen once Rush croaks.

The Aryan Brotherhood would make him their king.

Makes sense. He could bloviate until his arteries seize up. His handlers could feed him inflated ratings numbers, the True Believers would still have an altar to worship at, and if his incoming calls are carefully monitored, he'd be an inadvertent honey trap for provocateurs of all stripes.

20% turnout so far. Two weeks left to go. The goal is 90%.

Pat Robertson Says God Told Him Trump Would Be Reelected—and That It Would Bring About the End Times


Toldja so.

How Trump plowed through $1 billion, losing cash advantage

Not just King County.

I would agree federally, but I am pretty sure NY DA Vance is ready to go with some charges. I see that being a huge career boost for him over all so I do not think it will be easy to get him to drop things. That is the home of Trump and his organizations before he ran to florida. I have a feeling that they are just waiting for his presidential immunity to end so they can all make a better name for themselves, and that is also where a lot of his trash is.

In reality I expect after losing he will have a reason to head out of country where he will make it over to russia with whatever wealth he can con out of people in the US. I also would not put it by him to bargain his position in russia with US intelligence. If he loses he has served up whatever use he has with Vlad. He does some chaos on his way out, steals what he can, and buys his way into Russia.

He cannot guarantee the NY DA is not going to indict him on whatever they have. He has to get out of the country, take what he can with him, and sign it over to a russian residency before they slam his corporate and personal bank accounts shut. It is what a thief like him does.

Cyrus Vance Jr. is the guy. He has been setting up the indictments for a while, but he cannot do anything to a sitting president. He is the NY county DA where Trump ran a large number of his businesses and deals from. We know this guy has been prepping for a while. He is the one going after Trump's financial records. I have a feeling they have all the evidence they need being he has access to the convicted people around trump.