@CatherineofAragon
So he is as consistent and predictable as Hillary is in terms of what he'll do in office? Rather than argue with that myself, I'll just point out that a lot of other nevertrumpers condemn him because he is unpredictable and cannot be trusted.
All that is predictable is that he is like the weather. If you don't like what he says, just wait, it'll change. That just isn't any way to run an airline (That didn't work so well either, now, did it?).
Can't you see that you are being incredibly selective about what you choose to believe? Was he being truthful when he said those things to Scarborough, or just trying to pander to MSNBC voters? I don't think you're being consistent in rejecting everything conservative he says as being disingenuous, but accepting everything he says that is liberal as reflecting his actual views. If he is not trustworthy, then both the conservative and the liberal things he says cannot be trusted as reflecting his true views.
True enough, you can't trust what he says, as noted above. That means you have to go by what he does.
While he lives ostentatiously, indications are that much of that is a write-off. After all, advertising the brand means he has to live the lifestyle.
Indications are that his wealth has been overstated, his tax returns are unavailable, leaving that speculative.
Little has been said in the media about failed ventures, giving the impression that he is wildly successful, with some sort of Midas touch. Not exactly. He has had many failed ventures.
Not only are there accounts from subcontractors who collected a fraction of what they were contracted out for, but there are a host of investors who got, well, screwed in dealings with him. Details of those problems are scant because unless someone is willing to take a total loss instead of get some sort of recovery to pay their attorneys with, they have to sign a Nondisclosure Agreement which includes penalty clauses which keep much of that information out of the public eye (and the brand alive in the eyes of the uninformed).
Unapologetic serial adulterer. 'nuff said. That vow was just another contract to be broken.
Support given to leftist politicians. 'Pay to play', 'buying access', whatever, whether heartfelt (sure seems warmly chummy in the pics), or just doin' bid'ness, it is either genuine support for leftist politicians and their causes or part of the 'culture of corruption' we decry.
While his tracks are well covered, these actions speak louder than words, some shout from the distant past, and many past statements are coming out to haunt Mr. Trump.
My guess - and that's really all it can be at this point -- is that he's a basic East Coast, Rockefeller Republican. That is not ever a POV I have espoused, but I see it as preferable to the hard leftism, particularly on social issues, that we'd get from Hillary. But in any case, that still remains just a guess. Which leads me right back to preferring the unpredictable, untrustworthy to someone I can predict and trust to do exactly the wrong things.
Who do you know?
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Sun TsuYou can't know someone who has no consistent positions nor principles.
ETA: I should add that early in this campaign season, I told some liberal friends that Trump would probably end up being more liberal than they probably expected on issues like health care, and that he probably wouldn't be as bad from their perspective as they were thinking at that time. They responded by saying that the liberal quotes attributed to him were just an act, and that he really didn't believe that stuff. The exact flip side of the argument you are making here.
See? No one believes the guy.
