trump is serious!!!!!

[Sue U]

Let the Donald be the Donald!!!! Run, you short-fingered vulgarian, run!!!

[Crackpot]

"Loudest building"? Must be one of his own.

[Scooter]

Doesn't look like things are shaping up so well:

On Wednesday, Ballotpedia released the results of an extensive poll of likely presidential voters in seven swing states. The news was grim for Donald Trump, as Hillary Clinton outpaced him in all seven, largely by very comfortable margins. The only "close" states were Iowa (Clinton +4) and Virginia (Clinton +7). She was up by 9 points in Ohio, 10 in North Carolina, 14 in both Pennsylvania and Florida, and 17 in Michigan.

Is is hard to say which of these results is the worst news for The Donald. He's been entertaining the idea that he can flip Pennsylvania—the only part of the Democrats' "blue wall" that he has a chance of breaching. It certainly looks like that's not going to be happening; even this early in general election season, 14 points is an awful lot. Meanwhile, as political junkies know, no Republican has ever won the White House without taking Ohio, so that number is worrisome for the GOP's presumptive nominee, as well. Of course, there is no plausible path to victory for him that does not include winning Florida. And losing Virginia + North Carolina would be equally fatal.

Helpfully, the pollsters also asked respondents about other potential Republican candidates. Their numbers say that Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) would also be trailing Clinton in Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, but that he would be leading her in Iowa and Ohio, and he would turn Virginia and North Carolina into tossups. Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) would also be trailing in Florida, but would be ahead in Iowa, Ohio, and Virginia, while turning Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan into tossups. An aide for Kasich promptly sent out a mass email gleefully announcing the news. (Translation: Gov. Kasich is still available if the GOP wants to throw Trump overboard). Mitt Romney also chose to share the news that his family still wants him to run for president this year, but that he just doesn't think it's worthwhile without the full support of the GOP. (Translation: Former Gov. Romney is also still available.) A few more ghastly polls like this, and it's entirely possible that the NeverTrump movement roars back to life.

So take heart, Jim, you might get the chance to vote for Mitt Romney again.

[Scooter]

And what's up with Real Clear Politics classifying Georgia as a battleground state? Georgia, that with the exception of voting for a favourite son in 1976 and a razor thin margin in 1992 in a three way race, has not gone Democrat since before the dawn of the Civil Rights Era? If a rock solidly Republican state like Georgia is supposed to be in play, it's no wonder donors are avoiding the Hairpiece like the plague.

[Lord Jim]

Utah may also be up for grabs:

A new poll shows Gary Johnson, the Libertarian presidential candidate, is siphoning support from Donald Trump in Utah and could make the state a tossup in November.

This comes from Florida-based Gravis Marketing, which conducted the automated telephone survey of 1,519 registered Utah voters May 31 and June 1.

Gravis found that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, had the support of 29 percent of the respondents, while Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, snagged 26 percent. Johnson, who has based his third-party campaign in Salt Lake City, logged 16 percent. That left 29 percent of respondents who picked "other."

In response, Johnson tweeted, "I love Utah."

http://www.sltrib.com/news/3974917-155/ ... didate-may

Well, Drumpf said if he was the nominee there would be states in play that wouldn't be with a typical Republican candidate...

Looks like that was one thing he got right...

[Guinevere]

Give him time--he'll screw himself--he can't help it.

Here's The Great Unifier yesterday, staying on point about issues people really care about:

Donald Trump Wants Consequences for GOP Rivals Not Endorsing Him

BANGOR, Maine — ....... By the time Maine Gov. Paul LePage came to the stage to introduce Trump, some in the arena were chanting in support of their governor for VP.

Oh yes, LePage for VP! Perfection!!

[Guinevere]

Between his support for Trump and now this bit of idiocy, I've come to the conclusion that wes is actually a mole for the DNC...

Sorry Charlie, he is ALL YOURS. Fits right in with the idiocy sweeping your party, and your presumptive nominee.....

[Lord Jim]

Come on...

A guy who wants Trump to be the Presidential nominee and wants the Republican Party to nominate nothing but moon bats down ballot?

A person like that clearly wishes the GOP nothing but ill...

He's got to be getting daily instructions from Pinocchio-Schultz...

The only other explanation is that the person would have to be totally insane...

[Lord Jim]

Well now, here's another big ol' surprise:

After Saying He Forgave Loans to Campaign, Trump Won't Release Proof

When Donald Trump said last Thursday he was forgiving over $45 million in personal loans he made to his campaign, the announcement drew plenty of coverage. Many even reported Trump's statement as if the deal was done.

But it's not.

A week later, NBC News has learned the FEC has posted no record of Trump converting his loans to donations. The Trump Campaign has also declined requests to share the legal paperwork required to execute the transaction, though they suggest it has been submitted.

Last week, campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks said Trump was submitting formal paperwork forgiving the loan on Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Reached by NBC this week, she said the paperwork "will be filed with the next regularly scheduled FEC report," and declined to provide any documentation.

The delay could matter, because until Trump formally forgives the loans, he maintains the legal option to use new donations to reimburse himself. (He can do so until August, under federal law.)

In his most recent FEC filing, which posted June 20, Trump treated all his spending on the campaign as loans.

An FEC staff member tells NBC News there is no new filing changing Trump's loans. The FEC's candidate tracking page, which posts filings, does not show new paperwork from Trump changing his loans.

Even the remote possibility that Trump could tap new donations to pay himself fed skepticism among GOP donors, who wanted assurances that money intended for the election would not end up in Trump's own pockets.

The Trump Campaign has struggled to pivot to fundraising after the primaries, posting only $1.2 million cash on hand. Trump's loan announcement also comes as political fundraising experts have questioned whether he has taken to exaggerating his online fundraising, with claims that his first foray into email fundraising broke every record ever.

There is nothing new about a candidate loaning money to his own campaign, and Trump has long argued that his personal wealth makes more independent than most politicians, even if he raises money in the general election.

Ultimately, if Trump declines to release any proof for claiming he forgave the loans, the rubber will hit the road on July 20, the next FEC filing deadline.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-el ... se-n601596

Thousands of Republican donors avoid Donald Trump

WASHINGTON — Thousands of wealthy donors who helped fuel Republicans’ presidential ambitions in the last two election cycles have not donated to Donald Trump’s campaign or to other committees supporting his bid, underscoring the challenge the real-estate magnate faces in securing the hundreds of millions he needs to finance his general-election campaign.

Just 29 people who contributed to a super PAC supporting Republican Mitt Romney’s presidential bid four years ago had donated either to Trump’s campaign, to the Republican National Committee via a joint fundraising committee he established with the party or to a pro-Trump super PAC, Great America PAC, according to a USA TODAY analysis of new campaign-finance reports.

That accounts for about 2% of the more than 1,400 people who donated to the pro-Romney Restore Our Future during the 2012 election. Similarly, the analysis found only 23 individuals among the more than 3,400 donors who wrote checks to a super PAC supporting Jeb Bush’s candidacy in this election cycle had given to Trump or aligned groups so far.

Trump largely financed his own primary campaign and his late start in building a donor network is one of the key reasons he delivered such a dismal fundraising performance in May. He ended last month with just $1.3 million in available cash to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s $42 million. Campaign reports showed Clinton with a staff nearly 10 times the size of Trump's, sparking fears among some Republicans about his ability to build a campaign infrastructure to compete with Clinton.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli ... /86335080/

[RayThom]

Is it possible that Drumpf may somehow be able to convert this loan forgiveness action into a Chapter 11 reorganization process? I bet he finds a loophole whether real or imagined.

From the Tweeter:

[Big RR]

An individual or business only can file for bankruptcy protection when (s)he or it claims they are bankrupt (unable to pay debts as they become due); It is disingenuous to file for protection of the bankruptcy courts and then claim you are not bankrupt--indeed, it may be perjury.

[BoSoxGal]

Trump/LePage - I can't think of any two malignant narcissists who deserve each other more!

[MajGenl.Meade]

An individual or business only can file for bankruptcy protection when (s)he or it claims they are bankrupt (unable to pay debts as they become due); It is disingenuous to file for protection of the bankruptcy courts and then claim you are not bankrupt--indeed, it may be perjury.

Maybe - it's like the word 'evolution' - micro and macro slide around depending upon who wants to gore someone else.

He hasn't declared personal bankruptcy - right?
But as the owner/leader/whatever of one or two or more corporations those businesses have declared bankruptcy.

So to him, "I have never been bankrupt" is truer than "I never had sex with that woman" except he should add ("but I've sure bankrupted some companies by poor decisions and on purpose"). So they both blew it.

[Big RR]

Both blew it? A Freudian slip? t

But FWIW, I don't know if he ever filed for personal bankruptcy or not. I do recall reading that when his casino the Taj Majal went into chapter 11 he was forced to liquidate some of his personal assets (like his yacht) to meet some expenses he had a responsibility for, and the chapter 11 filing stopped this, so I do think he had some personal involvement in at least that filing (probably by hiding some of his personal assets in the corporation did then taking the depreciations). but he has also said that his businesses were doing well and he just filed for bankruptcy because he could--and that is pure BS.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Trump & pure BS? So axiomatic that's not worth making the point, is it?

And no - nothing Freudian about it.

[Big RR]

Well not really Freudian, but I would have said It wasn't both that blew it, it was Monica.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Which doesn't rule out the possibility....

She was six
and I was nine
she played the flute
and I sang mmmm mmmm mmmm mmmm onica

[Lord Jim]

Trump/LePage - I can't think of any two malignant narcissists who deserve each other more!

I was thinking possibly Gingrich, but while he certainly fits the narcissist description, he actually does know some things...

If Trump wants to double down on sheer ignorance and offensiveness, LePage would certainly be an excellent choice...

But the drawback is that LePage may be the only major office holder in America who could actually surpass Trump in sheer offensiveness, and The Donald may not want a second banana who could potentially overshadow him in that regard...

One thing we can be absolutely certain of, is that whoever agrees to man the caboose on this train wreck, it will be someone who otherwise has no conceivable political future prospects ahead of them...

Gingrich, Christie, LePage, Jeff Sessions (he's 69), Jan Brewer....

They'd all fit the bill...

[Scooter]

Trump flunks Supreme Court arithmetic

For the typical adult, counting to five should be pretty easy. It makes Donald Trump’s trouble with Supreme Court arithmetic that much more puzzling.

On Monday, the Supreme Court handed down arguably the most important abortion-rights ruling in a generation, prompting the Republican presidential hopeful to say … literally nothing. To the consternation of some of his social-conservative allies, Trump acted as if the court’s decision didn’t exist, offering no response in speeches, interviews, or social media.

It took a few days, but this morning the presumptive GOP nominee broke his unexpected silence in an interview with conservative radio host Mike Gallagher.

“Now if we had Scalia was living, or if Scalia was replaced by me, you wouldn’t have had that, OK? It would’ve been the opposite.”

Actually, no, it wouldn’t have. This week’s ruling was actually a 5-3 decision. Yes, Antonin Scalia’s passing meant the Supreme Court was down one justice, but it doesn’t take a mathematician to know 3 +1 does not equal 5.

Remember, the decision was on Monday, and today’s Thursday. Trump and his team had three days to come up with the candidate’s response to a major court ruling, and this is what they came up with.

In the same interview, the New York Republican complained about Chief Justice John Roberts, telling the host, “He could’ve killed [the Affordable Care Act] twice and he didn’t. That was terrible. And that was a Bush appointment. That was so bad, what happened. And you know, to me, you know, almost not recoverable from his standpoint. Very, very sad situation.”

Actually, the second time the justices considered the constitutionality of “Obamacare,” the law was upheld in a 6-3 ruling. When Trump said today Roberts “could’ve killed” the ACA, his math is still wrong – because 6 - 1 does not equal four.

Do you ever get the impression that Trump hasn’t really thought this issue through? Ever wonder if there’s an issue he has thought through?

[Long Run]

Most of the polls have a 4-6 point spread, and Nate Silver says its an 80-20 percent outcome at this point. But look at these two polls from today that factor in the third party candidates.

IBD/TIPP Clinton 37, Trump 36, Johnson 9, Stein 5 Clinton +1

Reuters/Ipsos Clinton 42, Trump 31, Johnson 5, Stein 4 Clinton +11

So, either it is close or a rout. I think that is likely -- either (i) a nail biter because Clinton's negatives become too big and Trump somehow manages to run a decent campaign or (ii) Trump keeps doing what he is doing and he gets crushed.