Lindsay Graham "Trump, the showman, might not win."

[HikerGuy83]

It's go time and Trump is going to blow it.

If he were even the least bit likable for the other side (or those who don't like a jerk), he'd be a shoe-in. 

But he has not learned that lesson......yet.

I suspect the poll bounce Harris, the marixist, has had is going to fade.  But this race would not even be tight if he'd shut up and stick to policy.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/lindsey-graham-trump-provocateur-showman-may-not-win-election-rcna167060

Sen. Lindsey Graham told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that former President Donald Trump, “the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.”

The South Carolina Republican’s admission came after moderator Kristen Welker asked whether Trump should continue personally attacking his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail.

“President Trump can win this election. His policies are good for America, and if you have a policy debate for president, he wins. Donald Trump the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election,” Graham told Welker.

“I’m looking for President Trump to show up in the last 80 days to define what he will do for our country, to fix broken borders, to lower inflation,” Graham added.

[Cyber Liberty]

Shut up, Lindsey.

[HikerGuy83]

Shut up, Lindsey.

Why ?

He's right.  I see it all around me.  People who really would like to vote for Trump but have big questions about why he behaves so poorly. 

You might not like that it is an election issue.

You might say....just vote on policy.

But guess what ?

They don't listen to you or me.

So, since we seem to enjoy getting our asses kicked, we can just let our candidate throw away an election he could easily win if he'd just shut his mouth and focus on the issues.

[collins]

well, Trump did beat his ass in the primary.

it's not as though Kamala has a winning personality herself. And at least GOP voters chose Trump, decisively. Linda should be aiding and abetting the enemy, but I think he is right - Trump could lose, but only with the MSM's help.

[libertybele]

well, Trump did beat his ass in the primary.

it's not as though Kamala has a winning personality herself. And at least GOP voters chose Trump, decisively. Linda should be aiding and abetting the enemy, but I think he is right - Trump could lose, but only with the MSM's help.

The MSM is already promoting Kamel, though I think the DEMS will likely push her aside at the convention. 

The DEM fix is already in.  No, I don't hold a lot of hope....and then there's the issue of Trump's sentencing in just a few weeks.

So has anyone, or at least the RNC given any thought as to what they will do if Trump is incarcerated???  Vance winging it and campaigning alone???

Ted Cruz or Ron DeSantis could have pulled this election out of the gutter, but it's too late. 

[mountaineer]

Why ?

He's right.

He expressed an opinion, not a fact. So we can't really say he's right. We only can say that we do or don't agree with his stated opinion.

[LMAO]

The MSM is already promoting Kamel, though I think the DEMS will likely push her aside at the convention. 

Why would they push aside someone who is motivating the base in the way BHO did and Hillary and Biden didn't and who is raising record amounts of cash and beating Trump???

[HikerGuy83]

well, Trump did beat his ass in the primary.

it's not as though Kamala has a winning personality herself. And at least GOP voters chose Trump, decisively. Linda should be aiding and abetting the enemy, but I think he is right - Trump could lose, but only with the MSM's help.

Admitting we are fighting that battle along with others is only more reason for him to get on message.

Laura Trump was on TV telling people to let Trump be Trump.

Screw that.  If he loses I don't want to hear his name (or hers) ever again.

[HikerGuy83]

The MSM is already promoting Kamel, though I think the DEMS will likely push her aside at the convention. 

Not sure how to even take that statement seriously.

[Smokin Joe]

Not sure how to even take that statement seriously.

Well, the Kamala as a drunk bit is getting out all over. Usually the first strike is to render someone unacceptable. Between that and the equine antics of Tampon Tim, and only donation links (no policy statements) on their campaign pages, they want the money, but likely don't have much candidate to brag about. No Kamala interviews, yet, either.

Shifting targets, from Biden to Kamala to ??? would keep the Republican attack ad game off target and spending money on ads that will be irrelevant. No one voted for Kamala for President in the primaries and the convention might open up. (Or they could run with her, knowing they have other means besides just a propaganda lock on legacy media.)

[HikerGuy83]

The former aid to his wife craps all over him with damning quotes.  She has no reason to lie.

This guy is going to blow it big time.

[massadvj]

Unfortunately, everyone in this election has already decided except maybe 2 or 3 percent of the voters. Now ask yourself: who are these 2 or 3 percent and what the heck are they thinking when they finally decide? Policy? No way. They obviously don't understand or care about policy, or they would have decided by now. They go with their gut. In 2016 it came down to "The Lying Grifter or The Nutjob." People chose the nutjob. In 2020 it was "The Abrasive bleep vs The Kindly Grandpa in the Basement." Clearly, Trump failed to define Biden better in 2020.

In 2024 the choice is going to either be "The Past versus The Future" (in which case Trump loses), or "The Competent Former POTUS with some Ego Issues versus The California Commie who Might Have a Drinking Problem" (in which case Trump wins).

If Trump can reframe "Past versus Future" to "Past versus Present" he can also win. The point is, it is not going to come down to policy and issues. It's going to come down to gut instinct, which involves people's subconscious hopes and fears.

Lindsay Graham is only saying these things to appease those people who care about policy and issues. 

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Why ?

He's right.  I see it all around me.  People who really would like to vote for Trump but have big questions about why he behaves so poorly. 

You might not like that it is an election issue.

You might say....just vote on policy.

But guess what ?

They don't listen to you or me.

So, since we seem to enjoy getting our asses kicked, we can just let our candidate throw away an election he could easily win if he'd just shut his mouth and focus on the issues.

 

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Unfortunately, everyone in this election has already decided except maybe 2 or 3 percent of the voters. Now ask yourself: who are these 2 or 3 percent and what the heck are they thinking when they finally decide? Policy? No way. They obviously don't understand or care about policy, or they would have decided by now.

I disagree completely with that.  It assumes that everyone is either clearly on the left or clearly on the right, and so have a clear choice.  But there are lots of people more in the middle for whom the policy choices are not yet clear, and that's especially true given how Kamala is actively trying to conceal where she stands on policy.  A lot of folks truly may not know where she stands on policy.

I personally think a good chunk of the undecided vote will come down to how well the GOP manages to expose Kamala on policy.  Of course, that also means that at least some undecided will decide for reasons other than policy, and since Republicans cannot afford to lose votes, the Trump campaign should be trying to appeal to both types of undecided voters.

[Free Vulcan]

And that's the crux of it - is Trump going to be a showman or is he actually going to govern?

[massadvj]

I disagree completely with that.  It assumes that everyone is either clearly on the left or clearly on the right, and so have a clear choice.  But there are lots of people more in the middle for whom the policy choices are not yet clear, and that's especially true given how Kamala is actively trying to conceal where she stands on policy.  A lot of folks truly may not know where she stands on policy.

I personally think a good chunk of the undecided vote will come down to how well the GOP manages to expose Kamala on policy.  Of course, that also means that at least some undecided will decide for reasons other than policy, and since Republicans cannot afford to lose votes, the Trump campaign should be trying to appeal to both types of undecided voters.

I have a PhD in marketing. What I learned in college is not worth too much because marketing is more than half social science.  But I can tell you that no human makes decisions based on anything logical. Humans are emotional creatures, and the less intelligent they are, the more they will go on intuition. Trump is a lot of bad things, but he is also a marketing genius. He fully understands that the people he needs to appeal to think like 11-year olds, not educated adults. The Democrats have always known this, which is why we used to talk about "Democrats behaving badly." They acted like adolescents because their market has an adolescent mindset. Trump was the first Republican to come along in my lifetime who figured this out. It may work, it may not. But I can tell you we are never going back to the old neocon political paradigms. They are dead.

[roamer_1]

I disagree completely with that.  It assumes that everyone is either clearly on the left or clearly on the right, and so have a clear choice.  But there are lots of people more in the middle for whom the policy choices are not yet clear, and that's especially true given how Kamala is actively trying to conceal where she stands on policy.  A lot of folks truly may not know where she stands on policy.

I personally think a good chunk of the undecided vote will come down to how well the GOP manages to expose Kamala on policy.  Of course, that also means that at least some undecided will decide for reasons other than policy, and since Republicans cannot afford to lose votes, the Trump campaign should be trying to appeal to both types of undecided voters.

The money shot does not come from the left or the right. You will find very little in converts either way. The money shot is getting the disaffected riled up enough to register, and then retain them with enough vigor to make them go out and vote months later. That's where the Conservative juggernaut comes from.

[goatprairie]

I disagree completely with that.  It assumes that everyone is either clearly on the left or clearly on the right, and so have a clear choice.  But there are lots of people more in the middle for whom the policy choices are not yet clear, and that's especially true given how Kamala is actively trying to conceal where she stands on policy.  A lot of folks truly may not know where she stands on policy.

I personally think a good chunk of the undecided vote will come down to how well the GOP manages to expose Kamala on policy.  Of course, that also means that at least some undecided will decide for reasons other than policy, and since Republicans cannot afford to lose votes, the Trump campaign should be trying to appeal to both types of undecided voters.

"I personally think a good chunk of the undecided vote will come down to how well the GOP manages to expose Kamala on policy"

Well, with her recent statements about evil corporation price gouging, taxing the bejeesus out of the rich, and letting Bernie give a huge pro-commie speech, I think Harris is basically giving Trump  a mile wide space to attack her.
 If Trump can't take advantage of the pro-socialist/class-warfare statements Harris has vomited out, he deserves to lose.

[DefiantMassRINO]

Lindsey, why shoul d Trump listen to anyone now?  He'll surround himself with only the people that tell him the answers he wants to hear.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

But I can tell you that no human makes decisions based on anything logical.

You need a refund for that degree.   That's one of the most absurd absolutist statements I've ever heard.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

"I personally think a good chunk of the undecided vote will come down to how well the GOP manages to expose Kamala on policy"

Well, with her recent statements about evil corporation price gouging, taxing the bejeesus out of the rich, and letting Bernie give a huge pro-commie speech, I think Harris is basically giving Trump  a mile wide space to attack her.
 If Trump can't take advantage of the pro-socialist/class-warfare statements Harris has vomited out, he deserves to lose.

I agree.  But what he's also got to do is not say stupid, headline-grabbing things on other topics that drown out the message on the policies.

[HikerGuy83]

I think I am seeing something of an effort on his part.

Right now, his only saving grace is that Harris is a Lunatic.

[the OlLine Rebel]

The MSM is already promoting Kamel, though I think the DEMS will likely push her aside at the convention. 

The DEM fix is already in.  No, I don't hold a lot of hope....and then there's the issue of Trump's sentencing in just a few weeks.

So has anyone, or at least the RNC given any thought as to what they will do if Trump is incarcerated???  Vance winging it and campaigning alone???

Ted Cruz or Ron DeSantis could have pulled this election out of the gutter, but it's too late.

DeSantis should’ve been it.  I’d take Cruz for sure.

My biggest fear was Biden not being the candidate.  That was Trump’s best hope.

[HikerGuy83]

"If Trump can't take advantage of the pro-socialist/class-warfare statements Harris has vomited out, he deserves to lose.

It's amazing.

He'd put his little hissy fits away and do it for his voters and the country if he cared. 

We propped him up and is core was all behind him.  If they ever offer something like this again, I hope we cut it off real fast.

I want to drain the swamp.  I don't want John McStain in there.  But I don't need to campaign for someone whose ego won't let them see how they are damaging themselves.