Official Donald Trump for President thread (4 Viewers)

[Gr00vus]

Not sure where you're looking.  Most recent polls according to Huffpost aggregation:

Clinton +12

Clinton +7

Clinton +5

Clinton +3

Clinton +8

Some of these include some polling from before Clinton secured the nomination.  All of them include some polling from before Trump made an ### of himself in his response to the Orlando attacks.

I think he's looking at this.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

You are a piece of work.

Work is one way to put it. 

 

[Courtjester]

Not sure where you're looking.  Most recent polls according to Huffpost aggregation:

Clinton +12

Clinton +7

Clinton +5

Clinton +3

Clinton +8

Some of these include some polling from before Clinton secured the nomination.  All of them include some polling from before Trump made an ### of himself in his response to the Orlando attacks.

I look at Real Clear Politics and they show

June 13-- Clinton +12

June 12--Clinton  +3

June 10-Clinton  +3

June 9-Clinton +4

June 6--Clinton +4--that figures in Johnson as well and the interesting one from that day is if it were Trump vs Sanders--they have Sanders at +10

June 3--Clinton +3

 

[Joe Summer]

Listen I try and stay positive about things in life because frankly I can only change the things I can directly control.

So the facts are simple (without insulting any of you with name calling, etc)

Trump will be the Republican nominee--all of you thinking otherwise are just not correct.

The general election will be close--all of you thinking otherwise are just not correct.. I know a lot of you are touting the one day change in polls on Tuesday that show Clinton up by 12, but before that poll and looking at the past weeks it was Clinton +1, Clinton +5, Clinton +4 and Clinton +3--with this last one being as of Sunday. These numbers will go up and down--up and down. A one day change in polls this far from the general means nothing. That is why I wasn't exactly throwing a party when it showed Trump even or slightly ahead a few weeks ago. It all depends on who answers the phone that specifi night to complete the poll.

You imply that it's a "fact" that the general election will be close. Where is your evidence to support that claim? Even if you ignore the daily national polls, there have been dozens of statewide polls (which have much more significance than national polls) which all indicate that Clinton will win by a wide margin. Clinton is a heavy favorite in all of the betting sites. Pretty much every expert analyst says that the election won't be close. That doesn't mean Trump can't win, but it does mean that most of the available "facts" support a big win for Clinton.

So, where is the evidence that the election will be close?

 

[Dexter]

Can Black Lives Matter ruin a memorial for the victims of the Islamic terrorist attack? Yup, they sure can.

 

[TobiasFunke]

I look at Real Clear Politics and they show

June 13-- Clinton +12

June 12--Clinton  +3

June 10-Clinton  +3

June 9-Clinton +4

June 6--Clinton +4--that figures in Johnson as well and the interesting one from that day is if it were Trump vs Sanders--they have Sanders at +10

June 3--Clinton +3

Gotcha. Not sure how that Reuters one that shows her +8 is eluding you, but in any event I think the +5.5 polling average probably paints a pretty accurate picture of where things currently stand.

I realize that 5.5 points doesn't sound like much, and it's barely beyond the margin of error for many polls.  However on the other hand, it's a full point or so larger than the greatest margin shown in the polling average for the Romney-Obama race once Romney took the lead in the GOP primaries link

I think there's some unpredictability here because this far out a major event of some kind could totally change the dynamic.  But if that doesn't happen I think this one's over.  I'd say its around 80/20.

 

[cstu]

Trump seems to like Arab Muslims but only as long as they are rich ones.

From his speech yesterday:

"I have many Muslim friends, these are amazing people, they're great people.  The problem we have is whether it's 7%, or 9%, or 11%, or 1%, we are having a tremendous problem in this country.  We don't know, there doesn't seem to be assimilation."

So he's saying that there's a good chance he's friends with terrorists.

Speaking of the 1940s, Trump yesterday in his speech referred to Muslim immigrants in this country as a "Trojan horse"- that rhetoric was used in the 1940s by the Hearst newspapers to describe the 100,000 Japanese Americans on the west coast who were interned. 

It's absolutely horrific to me that we have one of our two major candidates for President returning us to the most shameful days of the 20th century. 

Disgusting.

 

[Gary Coal Man]

They may not cite it in every case, but it's clearly present as a contributing factor.  For example do you really think Mateen would have done what he did were it not for the hateful, divisive rhetoric of Islamic extremists w/r/t homosexuality? 

No, Mateen likely was motivated by anti-gay, anti-infidel rhetoric from Imams.  But your reference gave the impression that you were speaking about terrorism as a retaliation to alleged hateful, divisive rhetoric from Western leaders rather than terrorism as motivated by alleged hateful, divisive rhetoric from Muslim leaders.

"The best we can do is try to minimize it by countering the hateful, divisive rhetoric that frequently gives rise to such actions with intelligence, common sense and inclusiveness. Exhibit A: the anti-Trump movement."

 

[cstu]

He bragged about taking back the press credentials from the dishonest Washington Post.

"I said why should I have people following me around, sitting up there like big shots and they write very untruthful stories.  They write very untruthful stories.  So I did it with the Washington Post, I'm so happy."

 

[TobiasFunke]

No, Mateen likely was motivated by anti-gay, anti-infidel rhetoric from Imams.  But your reference gave the impression that you were speaking about terrorism as a retaliation to alleged hateful, divisive rhetoric from Western leaders rather than terrorism as motivated by alleged hateful, divisive rhetoric from Muslim leaders.

"The best we can do is try to minimize it by countering the hateful, divisive rhetoric that frequently gives rise to such actions with intelligence, common sense and inclusiveness. Exhibit A: the anti-Trump movement."

I didn't mean to give the impression you seem to have gotten.  I was talking about all hateful, divisive rhetoric.  The "Exhibit A" comment was simply because the Trump campaign is the thread topic, and I think that's currently the most important fight on our hands when it comes to hateful, divisive rhetoric. The rest, while oftentimes more hateful and divisive, is not a threat to take over a branch of the federal government any time soon.  But I didn't mean to give you the impression that Trump-like divisiveness is to blame for Mateen's actions.  Hateful rhetoric in the name of religion is also pretty ####ing terrible and if I had to guess is the #1 reason that Mateen snapped.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/06/14/hillary-clinton-received-secret-memo-stating-obama-admin-support-for-isis/

Is this true? I'm not seeing this anywhere else on the web. Would explain why the focus has been on the gun control straw man to shield this news.

I don't think that people should take BB's word for it, just look at the actual memo and make up your own mind about the contents.

I think this is somewhat of a recap of a previously released document, actually, as I recall this arising before but also you can see this was provided in April or May of last year.

Here's the memo.

 

[Dexter]

From his speech yesterday:

"I have many Muslim friends, these are amazing people, they're great people.  The problem we have is whether it's 7%, or 9%, or 11%, or 1%, we are having a tremendous problem in this country.  We don't know, there doesn't seem to be assimilation."

So he's saying that there's a good chance he's friends with terrorists.

Disgusting.

Trump is absolutely 100% right. 

 

[cstu]

"I was against the Iraq war from the beginning.  I said, Iraq, if you obliterate their military you are going to totally destabilize the Middle East and that's exactly what happened."

 

[Dexter]

He bragged about taking back the press credentials from the dishonest Washington Post.

"I said why should I have people following me around, sitting up there like big shots and they write very untruthful stories.  They write very untruthful stories.  So I did it with the Washington Post, I'm so happy."

Again Trump is absolutely 100% right. 

 

[saintfool]

Trump is absolutely 100% right. 

When he says the same thing about white supremacist, anti-gov't, and other domestic extremists he'll be 100% right. We're approaching the one year anniversary of Dylann Roof's attack in Charleston. I wonder what he'll say, if anything....

 

[3C's]

Trump when he was leading in polls: "told ya so"

Trump during the speech happening now: "crooked polls"

 

[cstu]

When Trump tells this "Snake" story, does he ever contemplate that America allowed his grandfather into the country in 1885?  Or does that not matter because his grandfather was white?

 

[SameSongNDance]

No, Mateen likely was motivated by anti-gay, anti-infidel rhetoric from Imams. But your reference gave the impression that you were speaking about terrorism as a retaliation to alleged hateful, divisive rhetoric from Western leaders rather than terrorism as motivated by alleged hateful, divisive rhetoric from Muslim leaders.

"The best we can do is try to minimize it by countering the hateful, divisive rhetoric that frequently gives rise to such actions with intelligence, common sense and inclusiveness. Exhibit A: the anti-Trump movement."

I think everyone recognizes that stamping out these individual cases, where the terrorist is American born and has zero direct connections to an Islamist terrorist group is damn near impossible. As I've said in the past, we would need to relinquish our freedoms to do so. I already have a problem with the NSA, so that's not an option, IMO.

As I've said, I'm not sure what to do..but I know what not to do, and that is paint all Muslims as "bad" for a lack of a better term. In a micro sense, divisive rhetoric probably doesn't matter but in a macro sense it no doubt does. There are countries like Jordan and Lebanon where 94% of the population are opposed to ISIS (100% in Lebanon). There are countries like Turkey and Kazakhstan where support for Sharia law is barely 10%. A lot of predominantly Muslim countries despise ISIS just as much as us and recognize how large of a threat they are. We need to work in solidarity with these people and not act like a close minded ##### bags like Dexter. Islam in not a monolith.

 

[timschochet]

Again Trump is absolutely 100% right. 

Here's the thing Dexter: based on your previous posts, you are firmly part of Trump's base. You like what he has to say and you will vote for him. But unless Trump can expand his appeal beyond people who feel the way you do, he's going to get crushed. And the majority of the public doesn't feel the way you do about his remarks. 

 

[cstu]

I don't think that people should take BB's word for it, just look at the actual memo and make up your own mind about the contents.

I think this is somewhat of a recap of a previously released document, actually, as I recall this arising before but also you can see this was provided in April or May of last year.

Here's the memo.

It was field report, I didn't see any support to the claim we were 'supporting' them.

the report identifies Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) as being one of the principal elements of the Syrian opposition, which the West was choosing to “support.”

 

[timschochet]

Turning to today's news: 

Trump is meeting with the NRA to supposedly try and convince them to accept making it illegal for those on an FBI terror watch list to buy guns. 

If he could get them to agree to it that could change things, possibly. Trump could then present himself as a "guy who can get things done"- who can work with both sides. It would be a feather in his cap, and take the wind out of the Democrats' sails. It could change the narrative of the campaign. Watch for this. 

 

[TobiasFunke]

Turning to today's news: 

Trump is meeting with the NRA to supposedly try and convince them to accept making it illegal for those on an FBI terror watch list to buy guns. 

If he could get them to agree to it that could change things, possibly. Trump could then present himself as a "guy who can get things done"- who can work with both sides. It would be a feather in his cap, and take the wind out of the Democrats' sails. It could change the narrative of the campaign. Watch for this. 

The NRA has already said they're OK with delayed purchases for people on the watch list pending FBI investigation. This kinda looks like a ploy by them to get their preferred candidate back in the good graces of the voting public. "Sure, Trump is bombastic and occasionally offends some people, but that's just because he's not like those other boring politicians! Look what his business and negotiating skills can do- they can convince even the NRA to relent on gun purchases for people on the terror watch list!"  I'm guessing that's the narrative that comes out of this meeting.

 

[Joe Summer]

Turning to today's news:

Trump is meeting with the NRA to supposedly try and convince them to accept making it illegal for those on an FBI terror watch list to buy guns.

If he could get them to agree to it that could change things, possibly. Trump could then present himself as a "guy who can get things done"- who can work with both sides. It would be a feather in his cap, and take the wind out of the Democrats' sails. It could change the narrative of the campaign. Watch for this.

If Trump can convince the NRA to support a gun ban, it will finally prove that he has been working for the Democrats all along.

 

[timschochet]

The NRA has already said they're OK with delayed purchases for people on the watch list pending FBI investigation. This kinda looks like a ploy by them to get their preferred candidate back in the good graces of the voting public. "Sure, Trump is bombastic and occasionally offends some people, but that's just because he's not like those other boring politicians! Look what his business and negotiating skills can do- they can convince even the NRA to relent on gun purchases for people on the terror watch list!"  I'm guessing that's the narrative that comes out of this meeting.

Agreed. And who knows? It might work. 

The one thing Trump is able to do, like no candidate I can ever remember- is set the agenda. Good or bad for him, he always seems to be the one who starts the topic. 

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

If Trump can convince the NRA to support a gun ban, it will finally prove that he has been working for the Democrats all along.

This is pretty funny no matter how you look at it (left/right). Because Trump is one who always negotiates in terms of dollars and cents and concrete things that go into business deals.

This is a matter of principle, what could he possibly offer the NRA? They budge on principle and then he gives them what?

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

The one thing Trump is able to do, like no candidate I can ever remember- is set the agenda.

He does not set the agenda, he drives media coverage, two different things. The guy can barely read the agenda.

 

[General Malaise]

:X

My god.

 

[timschochet]

This is pretty funny no matter how you look at it (left/right). Because Trump is one who always negotiates in terms of dollars and cents and concrete things that go into business deals.

This is a matter of principle, what could he possibly offer the NRA? They budge on principle and then he gives them what?

It would give them great PR without really conceding anything. Most of their membership I'm guessing, are probably find with keeping terrorists from buying guns. 

Of course such a law would be completely ineffective unless you also have universal background checks and I don't expect the NRA would ever agree to that. 

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

It would give them great PR without really conceding anything. Most of their membership I'm guessing, are probably find with keeping terrorists from buying guns. 

Of course such a law would be completely ineffective unless you also have universal background checks and I don't expect the NRA would ever agree to that. 

Right, Trump can offer them PR. - These aren't PR people.

 

[dparker713]

Globally, terrorism is on the rise - but little of it occurs in Western countries

In other words, it is working.

 

[Gary Coal Man]

If Trump can convince the NRA to support a gun ban, it will finally prove that he has been working for the Democrats all along.

Or working for the centrist and Republican voters whose views on reasonable restrictions on guns were not always supported by the Republican Party.

Who wants background checks? Most Republicans

(CNN) Polls show a strong majority of Americans — including 87% of Republicans and 84% of gun owners — believe background checks should be required for gun purchases made at gun shows or online. This is a simple, broadly supported, common-sense policy.

If most Republican voters support background checks, I'd surmise that most Republican voters would then also support restrictions being placed on suspects who failed those background checks because they're on the FBI terror watch list.  That's a common-sense policy.

 

[General Malaise]

Child in Cub Scout uniform told his dad he wanted a banana split, got spanked angrily. What is going on

what the hell?

 

[TobiasFunke]

The fact that almost everyone in this thread is already predicting the outcome of the meeting is a fairly good indication that Trump and the meeting itself are fairly irrelevant here.  Assuming we're right, of course.

 

[SameSongNDance]

what the hell?

The fact the people are bringing their children to these rallies is insane but I suppose the atmosphere at home must not be that different. 

Jared Yates Sexton @JYSexton

Father explaining Clinton let her husband have "all kinds of oral sex" to his ten year old

 

[Jeremy]

This is pretty funny no matter how you look at it (left/right). Because Trump is one who always negotiates in terms of dollars and cents and concrete things that go into business deals.

This is a matter of principle, what could he possibly offer the NRA? They budge on principle and then he gives them what?

I love the tacit admission that nothing can be done regarding gun legislation without the consent of the NRA.  This might be the closest thing we've ever gotten to honesty coming from Trump. 

 

[General Malaise]

The fact the people are bringing their children to these rallies is insane but I suppose the atmosphere at home must not be that different. 

I just.....

I just can't.  What the hell is going on?  

 

Crowd member just shouted "gays had it coming"

Bragging that he took credentials from WA Post. Crowd yells Kill them all.

Trump says not to hurt protestor, several chant HURT HIM HURT HIM

Two days after Orlando Massacre Trump says number one priority is protecting the Second Amendment

Overheard: immigrants aren't people, honey

 

[Gr00vus]

This is pretty funny no matter how you look at it (left/right). Because Trump is one who always negotiates in terms of dollars and cents and concrete things that go into business deals.

This is a matter of principle, what could he possibly offer the NRA? They budge on principle and then he gives them what?

Staff/Cabinet membership? Tsar of something? Presidential support for gun friendly legislation?

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Staff/Cabinet membership? Tsar of something? Presidential support for gun friendly legislation?

The cabinet position would go to a person, not a group.

Gun tsar sounds... er, not sure what it would do.

And the NRA already automatically expects friendly GOP support. If he threatens the NRA with being an anti-gun president then he can kiss their support goodbye anyway.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

I just.....

Where are you seeing this stuff?

 

[saintfool]

Where are you seeing this stuff?

Rally Trump had in Greensboro, NC yesterday. Some live tweeting reportage.

 

[Jeremy]

The cabinet position would go to a person, not a group.

Gun tsar sounds... er, not sure what it would do.

And the NRA already automatically expects friendly GOP support. If he threatens the NRA with being an anti-gun president then he can kiss their support goodbye anyway.

I'm sure he'll say "throw me this crumb and it will help me defeat Hillary, who will be a much bigger enemy to you."  

 

[apalmer]

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE A TRUMP SUPPORTER!

I don't want to offend anyone. I do not want another timeout. Go to your safe spaces and DO NOT read.

https://storify.com/case_face/a-trump-rally-in-greensboro-anger-in-here-is-palpa

Where are you seeing this stuff?

 

[Gary Coal Man]

In other words, it is working.

No, most reasonable people would look at the charts and realize that the overwhelming majority of terrorism is occurring in Muslim nations by Islamists.  The reason why the West has far less Islamist terrorism has less to do with Western officials being able to stop Islamist terrorism and more to do with the West having far less Islamists than those other nations.

Besides, the original conversation was about whether Islamist terrorism can be stopped.  There wasn't a limitation placed on where that Islamist terrorism occurs.  In either event, it's increasing worldwide, and it's increasing in the West. 

European Officials Struggle With Red Tape and Rules to Protect Against Terrorism

San Bernardino Shooting Shows How U.S. Terror Defenses Are Tested:  The nation is grappling with isolated threats that are hard to detect

 

[Skoo]

So the solution to this growing threat is to elect someone with ZERO foreign policy experience or knowledge over the former Secretary of State?

 

[Jackstraw]

Who in their right mind is going to want to be on the ticket with this guy? 

 

[dutch]

Who in their right mind is going to want to be on the ticket with this guy? 

Newt is sucking up big time these days, my money is on him.

 

[Bucky86]

I saw it quoted from another reporter on twitter. That link was to simplify reading the guy's own twitter account of his time at a Trump rally. 

 

[Gary Coal Man]

So the solution to this growing threat is to elect someone with ZERO foreign policy experience or knowledge over the former Secretary of State?

Did the regime changes in North Africa that Secretary of State Clinton supported or had her hand in lead to more or less Islamist terrorism in those nations?

These maps show how terrorism is spreading through the Middle East's most populous country

But the chaos of the post-Mubarak period — and, some would argue, Sisi's heavy-handedness in disposing of his rivals in the Muslim Brotherhood — led to a gradual deterioration in internal security. Today, jihadist groups like Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has sworn allegiance to ISIS, prowl the Sinai, and bombings occur in Cairo with a frequency that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago.

WHAT IS BEHIND THE RISE OF ISIS IN LIBYA? (Newsweek, 2016)

We can see the same pattern being reproduced in other former Qaddafi strongholds, such as Bani Walid, located between Sirte and Tripoli. Several sources suggest the city is being used by ISIS leadership from Sirte as a major hub for hiding and transporting fighters in the western parts of Libya. Since the summer of 2015, the number of signs and slogans supporting ISIS has been increasing. Local sources reported at the end of February that an air strike targeted an “ISIS convoy of 15 pickup trucks” as they were leaving Bani Walid for Sirte.

The same pattern goes for another former Qaddafi stronghold, the city of Tarhouna, which is located on the road connecting Bani Walid to Tripoli.

 

[Bucky86]

Who in their right mind is going to want to be on the ticket with this guy? 

Christie

 

[General Malaise]

Where are you seeing this stuff?

A college professor went to a rally last night in Greensboro.  He live tweeted his experience.  His article is below.  Does not mention the cub scout who was violently spanked for having the audacity to ask for ice cream.  These are your peers, Trump guys.  

American Horror Story
A Donald Trump rally is a homophobic, misogynistic, racist nightmare.
BY JARED YATES SEXTON
June 15, 2016

“#####!”

The shout came after the first mention of Hillary Clinton’s name at Tuesday night’s Donald Trump rally in North Carolina: An opening speaker had called her “Crooked Hillary.” There was a smattering of laughs inside the Greensboro Coliseum. Many of the attendees were boozy-eyed. Many had turned to their neighbors and rolled their eyes, while a few people clapped in the stands.

But now it was Trump making the case that Clinton wouldn’t help the LGBT community because of her ties to countries that openly discriminated against women and gays, all the while belaboring the shooter’s Muslim immigrant parents from Afghanistan, the words spit out like they tasted foul.

“And she’s no friend of L … G … B … T Americans. She’s no friend. Believe me.”

 

“The gays had it coming!” a man shouted and gazed back at the guy who’d called Hillary a #####. They met eyes, shared a smile, a look of recognition.

As if it were some kind of joke.

As if 49 of his fellow Americans—49 living, breathing human beings—hadn’t just been mowed down.

I’ve spent a good deal of my time on the 2016 campaign trail trying to empathize with the Donald Trump supporter. As the product of Linton, Indiana, a Midwestern town gutted by NAFTA and the son of a working-class family the American Dream left behind, I can, with some effort, put myself in a Trump voter’s shoes.

They have, after all, been manipulated for at least the past 50 years to vote against their interests, as wedge issues and social crusades have persuaded them to forget their checkbooks and pledge support to a Republican Party that has promised to protect them from The Other, whether that’s been African-Americans, homosexuals, or feminists.

They have, after all, suffered the depletion of their work in the wake of globalism and free-trade initiatives, of which the Democrats have played a part.

They have, after all, been betrayed time and again by both parties in a system that rewards money and power and special interests.

They have, after all, been told incessantly in every medium how the country is being taken over by radicals intent on shredding the Constitution, and a lie can only be told so long before it sounds like a truth.

They have, after all, watched a very real and seismic shift in both demographics and social attitudes, the combination of which has upset the only thing they had: a consistent reality.

When I look at it in those terms, I can understand. Not necessarily condone, but at least understand. Trump, as they say, “speaks his mind.” He’s the megaphone through which their visceral and terrorizing nightmares could be given voice. It’s unreasonable but fathomable. And it explains why his rallies are themselves visceral and terrorizing nightmares.

In the parking lot of the Greensboro Coliseum there were vendors hawking everything from cheap pins of the GOP’s elephant mascot wearing Donald Trump’s hair-helmet to knock-off “Make America Great Again” hats in red, black, white, and camo. The coveted item for the day, however, were screen-printed anti-Hillary T-shirts.

“Hillary For Prison ’16.”

“Trump That #####.”

And the real star, a shirt you could hear vendors peddling from a hundred yards away: “Hillary Sucks, But Not Like Monica.”

They were everywhere. People inside were finding their fellow Trumpers wearing it and posing for pictures. Flashing big thumbs up and cheesy grins.

After the rally the vendors were back at it, barking like carnies.

“Hillary sucks, but not like Monica!”

“Come on, now! Hillary sucks, but not like Monica!”

I walked behind a father explaining the shirt to his ten-year-old son by saying the former secretary of the state, the first female presidential nominee of a major political party, had “let her husband have all kinds of oral sex in the White House.”

The “Hillary Sucks, But Not Like Monica” shirt wasn’t the worst one I saw. I caught a few glimpses of another take on “Hillary For Prison ’16,” this one featuring a caricature of Clinton. Her waist and thighs were ballooned for effect, trapped in what I have to assume was supposed to be a jail cell but more resembled a cage. Like she was an animal that needed to be tamed.

By the end of Trump’s speech, everything had been touched: His successes in the polls. ISIS and illegal immigrants in the same breath. Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren. The “dishonest” media and Trump’s revocation of the Washington Post’s press credentials, during which my section chanted “Kill them all / kill them all.”

He’d rambled until he couldn’t ramble anymore and seemed spent. He’d exhausted yelling “Shut up, you SILLY WOMAN!” during an odd, misplaced poem that compared immigrants to snakes. At another point, a boy interrupted with “We all bleed red” and was dragged out by security as Trump sarcastically called, “Don’t hurt him! Please don’t hurt that person!” and the crowd replied, “Hurt him! / Hurt him!” As he was led to the doors, a small pack of supporters broke off from the throng and followed as if they meant to pummel him just past the exit.

Outside, the lot was filled with more vendors and beyond them cars and trucks with Confederate Flag bumper stickers, decals, license plates, and actual Confederate Flags. In the shadow of one I watched a dad spank his child heatedly, as if the man needed somewhere to focus all his anger.

On everybody’s lips were strange non-sequiturs of hate.

“You can’t trust Latinos. Some maybe, but not most.”

“Immigrants aren’t people, honey.”

“You know them crazy black girls, how they are.”

Sickened, I got in my car and watched in the rearview as a group of college boys tailgated out of their pickup. They’d just finished their beers and were taking turns slamming them on the ground, one of them flinging it at the bumper of a passing car. Next to them another group of college boys wearing the telltale uniform of Southern preppiedom: gingham shirts tucked into thigh-length khaki shorts with braided belts and sockless loafers. Their wavy helmets of Bieberish hair tucked under those generic hats.

That’s when I realized what had been there all along. This campaign, whose success has long been attributed to the forgotten working and middle classes, the so-called Silent Majority, has been, and always will be, an unholy alliance between the Hateful and the Privileged, the former always on a never-ending search for new venues for their poison and the latter enjoying, for the first time since Reagan’s ’80s, an opportunity to get out and step on some necks in public.

I considered the odd pairing and its implications as I left the lot and turned onto Coliseum Boulevard. Trump can be defeated, and most likely he will be, but elections cannot cure this disease. It’s always been here and perhaps it always will be. Trump’s narcissistic quest to “Make America Great Again” has only drawn the insects to the surface, and there’s plenty of room to wonder whether he’s driving the movement or if it’s driving him.

There wasn’t much time to mull it over. Parallel to the traffic crawling down US-220 was a green and white sedan, the driver hanging a Mexican flag from his window. “#### Trump!” he yelled, succeeding in gaining the ire but failing to earn the attention of the shiny new SUV clogging the lane next to mine. At mind-numbing levels these college boys were playing “I Am a Real American,” the theme music of professional wrestling hero-turned-bigot Hulk Hogan, all while flipping off pedestrians with one hand and flashing Trump yard signs with the other.