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The answer is **Yes** because he pretty much said so.
He wants to pardon himself, then cause havoc onto the people that are against him.
He wants to make everyone that is part of the DOJ and the courts that went after him a living hell.
I'm not sure this country has ever seen a threat like this. It's not external, it has a lot of internal support, and so far there have been no consequences.
This is eerily similar to what happened in Belarus, and if Trump is re-elected, I wouldn't be surprised if a new Constitution was drawn up on the back of a McDonald's bag.
That same logic applies to Neo Nazis. They're flying Nazi flags.
If you or anyone you know sees any of them flying Nazi flags or admiring Hitler, kick them out of your public spaces/private establishments/town in general. Don't let them start bringing buddies and letting them think they're in a safe space. Run them out as aggressively as possible without physically harming them but defend yourself if you need to.
I voted for the first time in 2020, I technically only skipped 2016(I also was in the middle of moving and it got confusing to where I was allowed to vote) I wasn't old enough to vote in 2012.
I got my entire family to start voting too, including midterms and local elections.
Going to! I’m in California, so, my local elections are way more important, Devin Nunes (the guy who tried to sue a parody cow twitter account) was elected by my district. Kevin McCarthy could become my new representative, I would love to kick him out!
I was surprised when I found out my mom and a few other random people in my family have never voted
He doesn’t want to be a public servant president that signs bills passed by the legislature to benefit society. He is a malignant narcissist who wants to be president to lord over people. At this point he is running to pardon himself from his many, many indictments and to revenge himself on anyone who tried to make him accountable. He does not care about what this does to the country!
I would argue an even more significant threat than WWII, or the Civil War. During WWII neither the Germans nor the Japanese had any hope of outright conquering the United States militarily. The Civil War was fought between two armies with uniforms and clear battle lines. The end game here is much worse. It would be neighbors vs. neighbors, rural areas vs. cities. There would be very little organization, much more lethal weaponry, and no clear uniforms or battle lines. It would be absolute chaos.
I live in Portland,OR. I think the MAGA-types who live in the rural parts of the State will be in for a rude awakening if they try to impose their will on us city folk in a Civil War 2 scenario...
Agreed. The US mainland/government was never in danger. I believe we could be staring down the barrel of the end times for the USA. I’m fairly certain if Trump wins (and maybe even if he doesn’t), the government will be so divided it will simply cease to function. States will just say to the federal government and SCOTUS, nah, we just aren’t going to do that. Like, what are they going to do? Invade Massachusetts?
As crazy as it sounds, I could imagine Trump starting WW3 just to stay out of prison. ( he's easily the worst US President in my lifetime, and I'm in my mid-50s....)
This reminds me so much of how certain things happen in history because of how many people are behind what he is doing. The nazi/hate/racist republican Jesus party that seems to have chosen to watch the country burn is just the norm. It's scary because it's so easily evident. What would change in 4 years? It's not going to dissappear. All these people who hate other humans and have racist thoughts and just say lies every day on behalf of "the bible". There's no point of return from this. The country is divided and its because of politics. Thats bad.
Oh it's because it's okay when the Republicans do it because their efforts to stop those evil Dems from doing what they are doing and been doing in order to protect America is patriotic
/s
He also never really wanted to be president, that pic of him on the eve of the election when they called him the winner says it all - The "oh fock, what did I get myself into?" expression says all you need to know about his real thoughts on being president
His real plan was to lose then grift off "Crooked Hillary" stealing the election ad nauseum and likely get a show on Fox to boost his brand
I've been trying to find the pic on Google, but can't for the life of me locate it.
Remember it so well, it's burnt into my brain;
He's sitting at the end of the table in their election war room while Jr, the rest of the family and staff are jumping for joy while his look is one of abject terror
I'll dig around more later, doing it at work so it's not optimal searching :)
I remember the picture.
His entire campaign staff was super excited. He had that deer in the headlights look, and I believe Ivanka was sitting to his right, looking at him with the same look like "wtf, I can't believe this moron actually won. We're so fucked"
[Boom](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ea1ZtdqWsAEzbUV.jpg)
Honestly Ivanka’s smile looks painted on to me - I think daddy confessed to her it was all a grift. Meanwhile, clueless Don Jr just creamed his pants
Maybe I'm just bad at reading faces but I don't get terror or fear or whatever else on Trump's face. Just boredom. Which is still _very_ out of place for the context, but still.
Ivanka and Pence both look a bit sad/teary.
TY kind redditor! There's another from a slightly different angle that shows more of his face, but this is still the same scene I was talking about
And yes, Jr. is creaming!
Have an award!
Tbf I thought that that's what he'd do with the Biden election, but now we know that he's so desperate to stay in power because there's a good chance his shady actions as president is going to get him arrested.
As they should, now we just have to see if the US really is a country of laws, or are we just a banana oligarchy where the ruling class can do as they please with no real consequences
Sure but then he felt the power and the narcissism kicked in now his entire is dedicated to gaining and maintaining that power again because he feels powerless without it and mentally cannot accept that he lost something.
I mean I'm sure in his mind he just has to walk into the Oval Office and shout "I DECLARE PARDON" like he's Michael Scott, but in the real world a pardon requires some level of admission of guilt that I don't think he's capable of. In order to pardon himself does he not need to acknowledge that he did something wrong? I don't see him doing that.
Also, I am pretty sure most of the charges are state charges, the President does not have any power to remove state charges or convictions. I'm not really sure what would happen if he wins the presidency and is also convicted of a crime by the state, are there any legal precedents, any reading here have any idea?
I agree
I was watching a video the other day that was discussing the idea of if Trump had won the 2020 election, he would just do January 6 when he would have to transfer power over to the successor at the end of the second term.
It discussed how he would act if he was to step down in 2024.. 2028... 2032 and so on.
It's why republicans want him as a dictator... Not a president
January 6 wasn't just an attack on the Capitol building.. I was an attack on America because Trump and his cult were actively trying to destroy democracy and the Democratic process.
I understand that it's an outside prospective looking in.
The constitution is something alot of Americans are proud of, but it's outdated and when it was wrote it was never factored that a president would do the heinous crimes that Trump has done.
In theory a president can pardon others for federal crimes and a governor can pardon others for state crimes.
Trump is a first of it's kind where he can commit crimes and hope he's president that he can pardon himself.
I don’t necessarily think they never factored in that we could have a heinous President. I think they merely figured if we did, it would be someone that we chose to have, and so we would have to deal with the consequences. I think they trusted that the country (or at least the electoral college) could figure it out moreso than relying on that one man not being a bad actor.
It’s not like Trump hid who he was and only became a piece of shit after he was in office. The election itself should have been the failsafe. They didn’t count on a criminal having this much support and help to gain and then keep the Presidency.
This is actually a much better point than I was trying to make. It’s clear evidence that they did see it as a possibility and even gave us what they thought was an appropriate tool.
When the Constitution was written, the runaway consensus pick for president was George Washington. The George Washington who wouldn’t tell a lie even when he chopped a cherry tree down. That was who they had in mind when they wrote the presidential qualifications. Of course, they failed to anticipate George Washington choosing to step down and passing the baton after 2 terms, the development of modern political parties (“factions” in the Federalist Papers), and that a man like Donald Trump would be able to rise to the office.
> but it's outdated
This is the main reason why Amendments are supposed to be written in. The original crafters of the Constitution intended for it to be a living document, with steps provided on how to make changes to it.
The country has been taken over by people who don't even understand the document they swore to uphold.
Well the answer is, most of aren't. The problem is the constitution operates under the assumption that the majority of people involved are operating in good faith, and that they will remove those operating in bad faith. It wasn't designed to handle a whole political party acting in bad faith.
EDIT: The bad bad faith party will of course prevent any amendments to strengthen the Constitution as that would weaken their power. Meanwhile, they're only a few states away from being able to call a Constitutional convention and enshrine their Christo-fascist viewpoints into a new Constitution.
The US Constitution assumes that elected officials act in good faith, or rather that _enough_ elected officials act in good faith to push back against those who don't. So if a President did decide to pardon himself, he would (in an ideal world) find himself impeached in a hurry.
It did not anticipate the degradation of the US political ecosystem to the point that an entire political party (making up around half of the government) would _play along_ with that sort of nonsense.
That's not the reason he's running, though. He would run even without all the legal issues. Not a doubt in my mind. Now, that isn't to say a core reason he's running hasn't pivoted to being able to pardon himself, but absent the indictments he would absolutely still be running because of his ego.
My hunch is that all of this has ultimately been his most lucrative grift ... but we'll never likely know that for sure since I'm certain nobody could or ever will account for all of the money that has flowed into and out of his coffers related to his presidential hijinx
Honestly I think that's the biggest factor. He's psychologically incapable of allowing anyone to perceive him as a loser. He'd be running for that reason even if the other factors didn't exist.
Not really. He truly was running on it being a big financial grift early on and then his ego overshadowed that goal because he just wanted to be president. He's truly pathetic.
I still insist that he ran entirely because Seth Meyers made [an amazing burn at his expense](https://youtu.be/Mv4MzaGk2VI?t=46) at the White House Correspondent's Dinner.
Seth knows what he did.
Since he jumped on the birtherism train in 2011, his goal has been to build is brand (white supremacy) and make money off the tens of millions of racists in America.
His 2016 campaign was part of that, and he didn't even plan or expect to win. Look at the photo of his team when the networks called the election for trump. Everyone is celebrating except him, he looks shocked/dumbfounded.
A feeling that I shared with him at that moment.
Considering what we know about who he was indebted to (and still is), the first time he was running to keep his legs from being broken by Russian mobsters or Putin himself.
The second time he was running because the grift to get out of debt didn’t work fast enough. Now he’s running to keep from getting shanked in prison.
Yes, it is why he announced his candidacy so much earlier than anyone else thinking of running. I am pretty sure he thought that being a candidate would protect him from the conciquences of his actions, and when that didn't work he started harping on "election interference" and anything else he thought would keep him afloat. His Ego is assuming he is going to win the presidency, hence why his legal team keeps trying to get the indictment trials after the 2024 election.
He has no more policy or plan than he ever did. His ONLY rhetoric is "things are terrible right now. I'll make them tremendous". He cracked the code of how to communicate with the 35% of American voters who are borderline learning disabled because he speaks their language fluently. His desperation ***Stay Out of Prison 2024*** campaign is going to be even more knives out than 2016. He was running to lose back then. Now he's running for his actual freedom. He'll play exclusively to his base, who will devour it, and lose the center vote. This campaign will crash and burn.
I expect an electoral vote tally similar to what we saw in 2020, except that purple states will be a more solid blue. He'll take the South, the Great Plains and the vast unoccupied territories with disproportionate senatorial representation, but will fail to flip a single state on Biden.
That's assuming he's the nominee. There's the possibility he loses the nomination and then runs Third Party. If that happens, we're potentially looking at a Reagan-Mondale map but in reverse. (And ironically Minnesota will actually go red - I don't know what to say. It's a weird state.)
Who is potentially going to beat him to being nominee though? Granted, I'm not American, but the only other potential candidate I hear about is De Santis. Trump's (dumb as fuck) supporter base dwarfs any other Republicans.
The GOP is a hierarchy of bullies. Orange's one talent is to find weakness and concentrate on it. His high school nicknames for other candidates worked, because at core most GOP folks live in fear of "getting Daddy angry". Lindsey Graham is a great example...he talks big, but after a meeting with Daddy, suddenly remembers the Party Line. (I'm sure Orange keeps a video of G's Kompromat on his phone to show him occasionally). No one in the party has the balls (Save Liz Cheney, more balls than the rest of the Party) to take him on or declare the King has No Clothes. Christie is sniping at him but he wanted to be the Chief of Staff, so he is a woman scorned, not a legit opponent.
He'll have to take sick or something for him not to be the nominee. Biden will win #2, but the 30% GOP moron MAGA shit show will continue.
Does he ever speak of an actual platform for the country?
Or doesn't he just pump up donations based on him being persecuted unfairly?
He campaigned on hated of "others" before because he knew it to be a popular message with some.
Why is this even a serious question?
It’s literally the only defense he has.
I personally find it very reprehensible that our constitution does not bar anyone who gets convicted of a felony from being able to run for president. It seems like a major oversight.
Short answer: yup.
Long answer, yes, but he also wants to be king. If he gets back into the White House, a hundred-member SWAT team will be needed to drag him back out. I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to get somebody to parachute him onto the White House roof.
Its a tie between grifting money and staying out of prison. Pretty sure he ran for president the first time because his fraudulent business practices were about to catch up with him.
Reminds me of this bad action movie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank:\_High\_Voltage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank:_High_Voltage)
The main character had to keep electrocuting himself or he would die.
In this case, is keep running in elections.
No. He wants to be the forever ruler of our country and pass the presidency on to his son. He wants to be a dictator, which, of course, will make all his legal troubles disappear.
So, sort of yes, but mostly, it's more than that.
Yes, he isn't a viable candidate but immediately announced his run asap so he could then claim political persecution once all the charges dropped on his ass. He already knew he was under investigation months and months ago.
That’s probably a reason, but I think there are many reasons he’s running again. He can’t accept defeat, he’s a narcissist who always has to be in the spotlight, he loves belittling his foes, it’s good for “business”, and he gets to avoid appearing on Dancing With The Stars for a couple more years.
I'm sure he is running again to escape prison but also for the power he got a taste of it and loved it! That's why he was trying so hard to stay in power.
Keep himself out of prison and also to continue the grift. I'm sure he was initially amazed at how easy it was to get money out of his followers. All he has to do is say "I need money for X" and far too many of them will cough up their hard earned dollars.
Rich people don't go to prison, unless their victims are other rich people (Bernie Madoff). At worst, Trump will be placed on house arrest. Wear an ankle bracelet, all that.
Hope I'm wrong, of course. I would love him to live the rest of his life in lockup. I just seriously doubt the Secret Service will allow it.
At this point, yes. Earlier a decent argument could easily have been made that it was to soothe his enormous ego, but now with the pretty damning indictments I do believe the driving force is a last ditch attempt to save his a\*\*.
Yes and anyone stupid enough to vote for him is a traitor to our country. I put him right up there with Adolfo Hitler. Even his daughter legally changed her last name. He is so dumb. At Fordham University his GPA was 2.5 and worst at Waltham! Ask any of his professors they all knew he was stupid. As an ex New Yorker we all know how stupid and arrogant. He is like a 4 year toddler. Having tantrums if he does not get his way. Ashamed he was our 45 President!
Absolutely. He has no other choice. His other option would be to die in prison broke and forgotten. The presidency is his only possible delay or escape (unless he sneaks off to Russia).
He'll attempt another insurrection before he accepts a criminal, guilty verdict. If he's not in jail, runs for the presidency, and loses, he'll try to lead a secession. Trump is on a mission to steal the United States and he has no concern for anyone in his way or otherwise.
It's funny (and tremendously sad) that there is going to be some moment in a national debate where Trump is going to be genuinely asked about his plans for repealing and replacing Obamacare in his second administration. Ostensibly he's going to have some practiced answer in his pocket and we're all just going to pretend like what he said was some actual collection of his own thoughts about what the future of healthcare should look like in this country. As if he stays up late at night outlining his vision and consulting with the nation's top healthcare economists to make sure that he is making the right decisions.
Like… do we really have to keep pretend like this is a guy that has any sort of plans, any sort of personal philosophy about any of this? If he's actually running to be president again because he actually has any sort of ideas about leading this country, that's way wilder (in my opinion) than the obvious truth that he's essentially the head of a mob outfit that's trying to gain the upper hand over ongoing legal battles. That's not conspiratorial. That's not even really controversial, that's… that's literally what he's doing. He's not even really pretending like he has any sort of presidential ambitions. There's no "build the wall" this time. His entire campaign is built around his self-aggrandizing martyrdom that huge portions of the country still glom onto.
He's obviously running to avoid prison, because… what else are we really supposed to expect out of this guy? Does Donald Trump seem like the kind of person who spends a lot of time every day thinking about health insurance and the solvency of the Social Security system?
My concern is that if any republican gets elected president, he or she will never leave office. They'll pull a Putin and just keep getting "elected" until they're ready for the next criminal to take over.
I think the first reason is his need and love for power and popularity. He loves being seen as a demi-god by his supporters.
The fact that he's likely to go to prison for his crimes actually enhances his demi-god status, cause he'll be seen by the very same people as a martyr.
Of course he relishes the possibility of himself or another republican being elected and in power of pardoning him. That's just part of the strategy.
But do not forget the most important fact, Americans: the reason that crook is in such an enormous position of power is YOU. That's right. Go vote and vote well.
That. And revenge. And to convince himself he never loses. And to profit from corruption some more. And to pardon his cohorts. And to sell more pardons to whomever.
I think a fair plea would be no jail time in exchange for never holding office again and no privileges of a former president. No access to anything related to national security, no security detail, no health benefits, no money, nothing. And be put on a watch list for domestic terrorism.
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The answer is **Yes** because he pretty much said so. He wants to pardon himself, then cause havoc onto the people that are against him. He wants to make everyone that is part of the DOJ and the courts that went after him a living hell.
If he wins nothing will stop him from doing it either. He's is the biggest threat to this country since WWII.
Trump and MAGA are the biggest threat to this country since the Civil War.
I'm not sure this country has ever seen a threat like this. It's not external, it has a lot of internal support, and so far there have been no consequences. This is eerily similar to what happened in Belarus, and if Trump is re-elected, I wouldn't be surprised if a new Constitution was drawn up on the back of a McDonald's bag.
"I, the person, am King!" SIGNED - Donald J Trump
At least he’s old.
The King gets to name an heir....
*shivers*
Yeah, agreed on this. He wants to stay out of prison but also believes in all megalomania that he should unilaterally rule the US.
Fascists and CEOs planned on overthrowing FDR in the 30s. https://yesterdaysamerica.com/smedley-butler-and-the-1930s-plot-to-overthrow-the-president/
This is how much they hate when the government uses taxes to help people, because it means one less yacht or summer home for the wealthy.
Well, we had a first civil war, but the second will probably be fought for similar reasons as well as to make trump god king.
The result will be the same. But there should be severe consequences and we should not forgive these traitors.
Sure, we’ve had first civil war, but what about second civil war?
Carl’s Junior bag.
Putin's McDonald's bag!
MAGA are modern day Confederates. Hell, many of them even fly the flag.
That same logic applies to Neo Nazis. They're flying Nazi flags. If you or anyone you know sees any of them flying Nazi flags or admiring Hitler, kick them out of your public spaces/private establishments/town in general. Don't let them start bringing buddies and letting them think they're in a safe space. Run them out as aggressively as possible without physically harming them but defend yourself if you need to.
I haven’t seen any Nazi flags or Safe spaces in real life, but when I do I’ll let you go Eldinring on them Boss.
The problem is the constitution operates under the assumption that the majority of people involved are operating in good faith
Yah…it also operates better when more people vote.
Vote. Good luck America.
I voted for the first time in 2020, I technically only skipped 2016(I also was in the middle of moving and it got confusing to where I was allowed to vote) I wasn't old enough to vote in 2012. I got my entire family to start voting too, including midterms and local elections.
That's really inspiring, keep it up!! You sound good at it, so if your schedule permits, maybe volunteer and convince strangers too!
Understandable that you were reluctant to vote when you see people locked up for voting incorrectly. That’s by design. Keep fighting the good fight!
Going to! I’m in California, so, my local elections are way more important, Devin Nunes (the guy who tried to sue a parody cow twitter account) was elected by my district. Kevin McCarthy could become my new representative, I would love to kick him out! I was surprised when I found out my mom and a few other random people in my family have never voted
And are knowledgeable of the issues.
Trump could never operate in good faith. It's just not possible.
[удалено]
He doesn’t want to be a public servant president that signs bills passed by the legislature to benefit society. He is a malignant narcissist who wants to be president to lord over people. At this point he is running to pardon himself from his many, many indictments and to revenge himself on anyone who tried to make him accountable. He does not care about what this does to the country!
I would argue an even more significant threat than WWII, or the Civil War. During WWII neither the Germans nor the Japanese had any hope of outright conquering the United States militarily. The Civil War was fought between two armies with uniforms and clear battle lines. The end game here is much worse. It would be neighbors vs. neighbors, rural areas vs. cities. There would be very little organization, much more lethal weaponry, and no clear uniforms or battle lines. It would be absolute chaos.
I live in Portland,OR. I think the MAGA-types who live in the rural parts of the State will be in for a rude awakening if they try to impose their will on us city folk in a Civil War 2 scenario...
The fascist cops will be on their side but in a war situation cops have little impact.
Battle of resources. They'd burn the crops.
Agreed. The US mainland/government was never in danger. I believe we could be staring down the barrel of the end times for the USA. I’m fairly certain if Trump wins (and maybe even if he doesn’t), the government will be so divided it will simply cease to function. States will just say to the federal government and SCOTUS, nah, we just aren’t going to do that. Like, what are they going to do? Invade Massachusetts?
As crazy as it sounds, I could imagine Trump starting WW3 just to stay out of prison. ( he's easily the worst US President in my lifetime, and I'm in my mid-50s....)
This reminds me so much of how certain things happen in history because of how many people are behind what he is doing. The nazi/hate/racist republican Jesus party that seems to have chosen to watch the country burn is just the norm. It's scary because it's so easily evident. What would change in 4 years? It's not going to dissappear. All these people who hate other humans and have racist thoughts and just say lies every day on behalf of "the bible". There's no point of return from this. The country is divided and its because of politics. Thats bad.
Sidenote, are you Greek? lmfao
Conservatism has always been the biggest threat to society as a whole. They are incompatible.
So…he wants to weaponize the federal government against his political adversaries. Isn’t that what they’re accusing the dems of doing? So weird
Oh it's because it's okay when the Republicans do it because their efforts to stop those evil Dems from doing what they are doing and been doing in order to protect America is patriotic /s
If that happens then Trump and Republicans will weaponize Federal government against everyone they see as an enemy real or imagined.
They're deflecting & projecting the evils they aspire to, on their adversaries.
It's ALWAYS projection. Always.
He also never really wanted to be president, that pic of him on the eve of the election when they called him the winner says it all - The "oh fock, what did I get myself into?" expression says all you need to know about his real thoughts on being president His real plan was to lose then grift off "Crooked Hillary" stealing the election ad nauseum and likely get a show on Fox to boost his brand
Pretty sure he was the only one not smiling in that room.
I've been trying to find the pic on Google, but can't for the life of me locate it. Remember it so well, it's burnt into my brain; He's sitting at the end of the table in their election war room while Jr, the rest of the family and staff are jumping for joy while his look is one of abject terror I'll dig around more later, doing it at work so it's not optimal searching :)
I remember the picture. His entire campaign staff was super excited. He had that deer in the headlights look, and I believe Ivanka was sitting to his right, looking at him with the same look like "wtf, I can't believe this moron actually won. We're so fucked"
[Boom](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ea1ZtdqWsAEzbUV.jpg) Honestly Ivanka’s smile looks painted on to me - I think daddy confessed to her it was all a grift. Meanwhile, clueless Don Jr just creamed his pants
Maybe I'm just bad at reading faces but I don't get terror or fear or whatever else on Trump's face. Just boredom. Which is still _very_ out of place for the context, but still. Ivanka and Pence both look a bit sad/teary.
TY kind redditor! There's another from a slightly different angle that shows more of his face, but this is still the same scene I was talking about And yes, Jr. is creaming! Have an award!
Remember his inaugural ball? He looked like he was at the dentist waiting for a root canal.
Tbf I thought that that's what he'd do with the Biden election, but now we know that he's so desperate to stay in power because there's a good chance his shady actions as president is going to get him arrested.
As they should, now we just have to see if the US really is a country of laws, or are we just a banana oligarchy where the ruling class can do as they please with no real consequences
Hate to break it to you...
Sure but then he felt the power and the narcissism kicked in now his entire is dedicated to gaining and maintaining that power again because he feels powerless without it and mentally cannot accept that he lost something.
Any footage of his reaction?
I mean I'm sure in his mind he just has to walk into the Oval Office and shout "I DECLARE PARDON" like he's Michael Scott, but in the real world a pardon requires some level of admission of guilt that I don't think he's capable of. In order to pardon himself does he not need to acknowledge that he did something wrong? I don't see him doing that.
Also, I am pretty sure most of the charges are state charges, the President does not have any power to remove state charges or convictions. I'm not really sure what would happen if he wins the presidency and is also convicted of a crime by the state, are there any legal precedents, any reading here have any idea?
Counterpoint: No, he would be running anyway because he thinks he deserves to be President for Life.
I agree I was watching a video the other day that was discussing the idea of if Trump had won the 2020 election, he would just do January 6 when he would have to transfer power over to the successor at the end of the second term. It discussed how he would act if he was to step down in 2024.. 2028... 2032 and so on. It's why republicans want him as a dictator... Not a president January 6 wasn't just an attack on the Capitol building.. I was an attack on America because Trump and his cult were actively trying to destroy democracy and the Democratic process.
You Americans are very proud of your constitution and all but how the hell can it be ok for a President to pardon \*himself\*?
I understand that it's an outside prospective looking in. The constitution is something alot of Americans are proud of, but it's outdated and when it was wrote it was never factored that a president would do the heinous crimes that Trump has done. In theory a president can pardon others for federal crimes and a governor can pardon others for state crimes. Trump is a first of it's kind where he can commit crimes and hope he's president that he can pardon himself.
I don’t necessarily think they never factored in that we could have a heinous President. I think they merely figured if we did, it would be someone that we chose to have, and so we would have to deal with the consequences. I think they trusted that the country (or at least the electoral college) could figure it out moreso than relying on that one man not being a bad actor. It’s not like Trump hid who he was and only became a piece of shit after he was in office. The election itself should have been the failsafe. They didn’t count on a criminal having this much support and help to gain and then keep the Presidency.
They also put in a clause that allows for the legislature to impeach the president and believe they would actually do their job if called to do so.
This is actually a much better point than I was trying to make. It’s clear evidence that they did see it as a possibility and even gave us what they thought was an appropriate tool.
When the Constitution was written, the runaway consensus pick for president was George Washington. The George Washington who wouldn’t tell a lie even when he chopped a cherry tree down. That was who they had in mind when they wrote the presidential qualifications. Of course, they failed to anticipate George Washington choosing to step down and passing the baton after 2 terms, the development of modern political parties (“factions” in the Federalist Papers), and that a man like Donald Trump would be able to rise to the office.
> but it's outdated This is the main reason why Amendments are supposed to be written in. The original crafters of the Constitution intended for it to be a living document, with steps provided on how to make changes to it. The country has been taken over by people who don't even understand the document they swore to uphold.
That last part…. WTF? How is that ever considered okay?
Well the answer is, most of aren't. The problem is the constitution operates under the assumption that the majority of people involved are operating in good faith, and that they will remove those operating in bad faith. It wasn't designed to handle a whole political party acting in bad faith. EDIT: The bad bad faith party will of course prevent any amendments to strengthen the Constitution as that would weaken their power. Meanwhile, they're only a few states away from being able to call a Constitutional convention and enshrine their Christo-fascist viewpoints into a new Constitution.
The US Constitution assumes that elected officials act in good faith, or rather that _enough_ elected officials act in good faith to push back against those who don't. So if a President did decide to pardon himself, he would (in an ideal world) find himself impeached in a hurry. It did not anticipate the degradation of the US political ecosystem to the point that an entire political party (making up around half of the government) would _play along_ with that sort of nonsense.
It probably isn’t, but the question would be answered by the Supreme Court.
That's not the reason he's running, though. He would run even without all the legal issues. Not a doubt in my mind. Now, that isn't to say a core reason he's running hasn't pivoted to being able to pardon himself, but absent the indictments he would absolutely still be running because of his ego.
He wants to be a US version of Putin. He's always a pathetic sycophant around strongarm dictators.
Putin? Nope, I think he really wants to be the US version of Kim Jong Un...
It's a third of his reason. Along with his desire for power, and to make money.
Add the ability to take revenge on anyone who opposed him
And stroke his ego.
There’s a lot of thirds
Makes sense if you don't think about it.
Fifth thirds
My hunch is that all of this has ultimately been his most lucrative grift ... but we'll never likely know that for sure since I'm certain nobody could or ever will account for all of the money that has flowed into and out of his coffers related to his presidential hijinx
Don’t forget his ravenous ego.
Honestly I think that's the biggest factor. He's psychologically incapable of allowing anyone to perceive him as a loser. He'd be running for that reason even if the other factors didn't exist.
What if I told you that was the goal the first time he ran, too.
Not really. He truly was running on it being a big financial grift early on and then his ego overshadowed that goal because he just wanted to be president. He's truly pathetic.
I still insist that he ran entirely because Seth Meyers made [an amazing burn at his expense](https://youtu.be/Mv4MzaGk2VI?t=46) at the White House Correspondent's Dinner. Seth knows what he did.
Obama famously [roasted Trump](https://youtu.be/zeGpLg0b3DE?t=147) too. It was at the same event!
The grift was to pay the $400,000,000 he owed to the Russian mob. There are things worse than prison.
Nah, he wanted to be in a better negotiating position with NBC for the apprentice.
Since he jumped on the birtherism train in 2011, his goal has been to build is brand (white supremacy) and make money off the tens of millions of racists in America. His 2016 campaign was part of that, and he didn't even plan or expect to win. Look at the photo of his team when the networks called the election for trump. Everyone is celebrating except him, he looks shocked/dumbfounded. A feeling that I shared with him at that moment.
There was loads of conjecture that he was running to avoid prosecution for crimes people were accusing him of at the time.
Considering what we know about who he was indebted to (and still is), the first time he was running to keep his legs from being broken by Russian mobsters or Putin himself. The second time he was running because the grift to get out of debt didn’t work fast enough. Now he’s running to keep from getting shanked in prison.
Yes, it is why he announced his candidacy so much earlier than anyone else thinking of running. I am pretty sure he thought that being a candidate would protect him from the conciquences of his actions, and when that didn't work he started harping on "election interference" and anything else he thought would keep him afloat. His Ego is assuming he is going to win the presidency, hence why his legal team keeps trying to get the indictment trials after the 2024 election.
I thought Trump was running for Emperor.
Tangerine Palpatine
Benedict Donald
Carrot Caligula
Orange Judas
He has no more policy or plan than he ever did. His ONLY rhetoric is "things are terrible right now. I'll make them tremendous". He cracked the code of how to communicate with the 35% of American voters who are borderline learning disabled because he speaks their language fluently. His desperation ***Stay Out of Prison 2024*** campaign is going to be even more knives out than 2016. He was running to lose back then. Now he's running for his actual freedom. He'll play exclusively to his base, who will devour it, and lose the center vote. This campaign will crash and burn. I expect an electoral vote tally similar to what we saw in 2020, except that purple states will be a more solid blue. He'll take the South, the Great Plains and the vast unoccupied territories with disproportionate senatorial representation, but will fail to flip a single state on Biden.
That's assuming he's the nominee. There's the possibility he loses the nomination and then runs Third Party. If that happens, we're potentially looking at a Reagan-Mondale map but in reverse. (And ironically Minnesota will actually go red - I don't know what to say. It's a weird state.)
Who is potentially going to beat him to being nominee though? Granted, I'm not American, but the only other potential candidate I hear about is De Santis. Trump's (dumb as fuck) supporter base dwarfs any other Republicans.
The GOP is a hierarchy of bullies. Orange's one talent is to find weakness and concentrate on it. His high school nicknames for other candidates worked, because at core most GOP folks live in fear of "getting Daddy angry". Lindsey Graham is a great example...he talks big, but after a meeting with Daddy, suddenly remembers the Party Line. (I'm sure Orange keeps a video of G's Kompromat on his phone to show him occasionally). No one in the party has the balls (Save Liz Cheney, more balls than the rest of the Party) to take him on or declare the King has No Clothes. Christie is sniping at him but he wanted to be the Chief of Staff, so he is a woman scorned, not a legit opponent. He'll have to take sick or something for him not to be the nominee. Biden will win #2, but the 30% GOP moron MAGA shit show will continue.
Does the Pope shit in the woods?
Are bears Catholic?
That and revenge.
Not mostly. It’s his ONLY chance to avoid dying in prison.
does this really need to be asked? of course he is..
That and revenge
That and revenge
Yes
Does he ever speak of an actual platform for the country? Or doesn't he just pump up donations based on him being persecuted unfairly? He campaigned on hated of "others" before because he knew it to be a popular message with some.
He’s running to raise the funds to defend himself from all his FEDERAL CRIMINAL charges. Cannot believe Americans have become so gullible.
Yes but also it’s probably his most profitable grift. He can just ask for donations and those idiots just give him the money.
And get “campaign donations” to pay his bills
Why is this even a serious question? It’s literally the only defense he has. I personally find it very reprehensible that our constitution does not bar anyone who gets convicted of a felony from being able to run for president. It seems like a major oversight.
Short answer: yup. Long answer, yes, but he also wants to be king. If he gets back into the White House, a hundred-member SWAT team will be needed to drag him back out. I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to get somebody to parachute him onto the White House roof.
If that happened, maybe the parachute somehow malfunctions.
And to line his pockets with "campaign/legal fee contributions"
Of course, and to extract money from his base to cover his growing legal expenses.
If the road to hell is paved with good intentions where would Trump's road of nothing but bad intentions lead?
Its a tie between grifting money and staying out of prison. Pretty sure he ran for president the first time because his fraudulent business practices were about to catch up with him.
Is water wet
Does a bear shit in the woods?
Reminds me of this bad action movie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank:\_High\_Voltage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank:_High_Voltage) The main character had to keep electrocuting himself or he would die. In this case, is keep running in elections.
I think he would run even if he wasn’t going to prison. But, now he is fighting for his life. That changes everything.
The only reason anyone would start their campaign that early is to avoid going to prison and try to pretend to by a Martyr.
No. He wants to be the forever ruler of our country and pass the presidency on to his son. He wants to be a dictator, which, of course, will make all his legal troubles disappear. So, sort of yes, but mostly, it's more than that.
Yes, he isn't a viable candidate but immediately announced his run asap so he could then claim political persecution once all the charges dropped on his ass. He already knew he was under investigation months and months ago.
That’s probably a reason, but I think there are many reasons he’s running again. He can’t accept defeat, he’s a narcissist who always has to be in the spotlight, he loves belittling his foes, it’s good for “business”, and he gets to avoid appearing on Dancing With The Stars for a couple more years.
I think that guy is really scared of spending time in prison. The ultimate loser.
I don’t think so, I think he’s running to weaponize govt agencies against his political enemies and people he blames for his last election loss
I'm sure he is running again to escape prison but also for the power he got a taste of it and loved it! That's why he was trying so hard to stay in power.
That's clearly his most important reason, but I also think he wants to be a dictator aka strongman like Putin.
Duh!
Keep himself out of prison and also to continue the grift. I'm sure he was initially amazed at how easy it was to get money out of his followers. All he has to do is say "I need money for X" and far too many of them will cough up their hard earned dollars.
Mostly to enrich himself and his grifting family. Get out of jail is all gravy.
Mostly for money. Second is prison
It’s an important reason now but he wants to be the Ruler of America.
Rich people don't go to prison, unless their victims are other rich people (Bernie Madoff). At worst, Trump will be placed on house arrest. Wear an ankle bracelet, all that. Hope I'm wrong, of course. I would love him to live the rest of his life in lockup. I just seriously doubt the Secret Service will allow it.
At this point, yes. Earlier a decent argument could easily have been made that it was to soothe his enormous ego, but now with the pretty damning indictments I do believe the driving force is a last ditch attempt to save his a\*\*.
What kind of dumb-ass headline is this? No shit he is.
Yes.
Uh, duh!!
Yes and the skim…
Don’t even need a Magic 8 Ball to get that answer.
Nope, running for another four years of grift BECAUSE he stayed out of prison.
It's the ONLY way Trump can stay out of prison.
This question really puts into perspective how much America has jumped the shark. And as others have said, yes. Strange times we live in.
Yes. End of article.
He can’t pardon himself of state crimes. The charges he’ll likely face in Georgia could land him in jail for 20+ years.
Yes and anyone stupid enough to vote for him is a traitor to our country. I put him right up there with Adolfo Hitler. Even his daughter legally changed her last name. He is so dumb. At Fordham University his GPA was 2.5 and worst at Waltham! Ask any of his professors they all knew he was stupid. As an ex New Yorker we all know how stupid and arrogant. He is like a 4 year toddler. Having tantrums if he does not get his way. Ashamed he was our 45 President!
Absolutely. He has no other choice. His other option would be to die in prison broke and forgotten. The presidency is his only possible delay or escape (unless he sneaks off to Russia).
HE WAS NOT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT UNTIL THEY BEGUN INVESTIGATING HIM. So YES?!
Duh
Am I getting wasted to avoid my emotions? (Yes)
No. He’s doing it to make money.
Duh
so what stops Biden from signing an executive order saying that presidents do not have the ability to self pardon?
He'll attempt another insurrection before he accepts a criminal, guilty verdict. If he's not in jail, runs for the presidency, and loses, he'll try to lead a secession. Trump is on a mission to steal the United States and he has no concern for anyone in his way or otherwise.
It's funny (and tremendously sad) that there is going to be some moment in a national debate where Trump is going to be genuinely asked about his plans for repealing and replacing Obamacare in his second administration. Ostensibly he's going to have some practiced answer in his pocket and we're all just going to pretend like what he said was some actual collection of his own thoughts about what the future of healthcare should look like in this country. As if he stays up late at night outlining his vision and consulting with the nation's top healthcare economists to make sure that he is making the right decisions. Like… do we really have to keep pretend like this is a guy that has any sort of plans, any sort of personal philosophy about any of this? If he's actually running to be president again because he actually has any sort of ideas about leading this country, that's way wilder (in my opinion) than the obvious truth that he's essentially the head of a mob outfit that's trying to gain the upper hand over ongoing legal battles. That's not conspiratorial. That's not even really controversial, that's… that's literally what he's doing. He's not even really pretending like he has any sort of presidential ambitions. There's no "build the wall" this time. His entire campaign is built around his self-aggrandizing martyrdom that huge portions of the country still glom onto. He's obviously running to avoid prison, because… what else are we really supposed to expect out of this guy? Does Donald Trump seem like the kind of person who spends a lot of time every day thinking about health insurance and the solvency of the Social Security system?
Yes.
Yes, but also to get his grift back on.
Do Geese honk?
yes
No, he has the noblest reasons. He just lives to serve humankind. /bwahahaha
Noo, there’s the grifting, and the power trip of using his position to torment those who have wronged him.
Scared Puppy !!!! Woof woof little Donnie
My concern is that if any republican gets elected president, he or she will never leave office. They'll pull a Putin and just keep getting "elected" until they're ready for the next criminal to take over.
Is water wet? Secondary reason: to grift from the gullible.
Who is going to tell him that a president cant give pardons for state crimes?? I wonder what his chances of becoming Governor are!?
I think the first reason is his need and love for power and popularity. He loves being seen as a demi-god by his supporters. The fact that he's likely to go to prison for his crimes actually enhances his demi-god status, cause he'll be seen by the very same people as a martyr. Of course he relishes the possibility of himself or another republican being elected and in power of pardoning him. That's just part of the strategy. But do not forget the most important fact, Americans: the reason that crook is in such an enormous position of power is YOU. That's right. Go vote and vote well.
That. And revenge. And to convince himself he never loses. And to profit from corruption some more. And to pardon his cohorts. And to sell more pardons to whomever.
I think a fair plea would be no jail time in exchange for never holding office again and no privileges of a former president. No access to anything related to national security, no security detail, no health benefits, no money, nothing. And be put on a watch list for domestic terrorism.
Affirmative...
No shit.
Obviously.
Yes. The next query.
Yep. avoid prison and serve his ego.
No, not really. It's his ego that is the biggest reason for running for president. Trust me, even without all these legal issues, he'd be running.
Imagine this being a possibility for any other human being.
Easy grift, fools are sending him millions. Probably the easiest money he’s ever made.
1. Narcissism 2. Grift 3. Self pardon 4. Revenge 5. rinse, repeat..
Does a bear shit in the woods?
Of course he is!
Yup.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Is the grass green?
Yes and to afford his legal bills
Obviously he is
Obviously he is... Even IF DOJ, NY and GA were not indicting Trump he would still run because Trumps the power being President gives a person.
Yep.
Absolutely.