Thread: Should Trump Run?

Originally Posted by Mickey

Being a good businessman does not necessarily translate into being a good president. I'm not even sure he's such a great businessman - hasn't he filed for bankruptcy around four times? The man is a huge risk taker, and that's fine, assuming the money he is risking is his own. Knowing what I know about Donald Trump, which admittingly isn't much, I would not vote for him as President of the United States at this time. Thank you, but no thank you, I'll waite for something better to come along.

Yes, he did file for bankruptcy at least once that I know of. As for his stance on illegal immigration I don't trust him not to flip flop if he were elected. I may be wrong but we've been burned far too many times by empty promises.

Originally Posted by ReformUSA2012

Originally Posted by NoBueno

One thing that bothers me about Trump is his seemingly willingness to place making a buck over the better interests of this country. On one hand, he fully attacks China regarding their nefarious motives against the United States (which he's 100% correct of course) but then on the other, freely engaged in business practices with these people knowing their intent was less than honorable.

In other words, when did Trump decide to come out against china; before or after he considered running for POTUS?

If he was truly concerned with our country, why would he do business with these people? On the other hand, he’s been the only one who has come out and publically criticized china and their increasingly hostile and parasitic tendencies towards our country. While china continues to grow at unprecedented levels because of unrestricted, non-free trade (what’s the current trade deficit with china?) with our country, we continue to lose jobs and decline economically.

Someone needs to do something…..

Its easy to condemn someone for buying goods in China. But in reality in todays world in the US there simply is NO other option for business's if they want to compete or even survive. At least not until the government steps in and changes the rules. Trump may be rich and in his right have quite a bit of power and influence but his power and influence isn't enough to have goods made in the US as competitive prices.

Now Trumps business is building buildings. Where does the US get the vast majority of its steel? What about drywall? What about pipes and so forth needed? The vast majority is NO longer made in the US. There is NO other option. How many TVs, Cell Phones, laptops, and so forth are made in the US? Hell, 70% of US Flags are made in Asia or India!.

Now assuming there even was in a few areas the ability to buy American in his market, when those goods make you need to bid 10% more on a project then the other competition.... you don't get the contract. Its the same thing for us average Americans. We see 2 goods and because our wallet is tight we go with the cheaper one before the one that is made in the US. Seriously do you shop by where its made and refuse to buy anytthing made in China or 3rd world countries? Or do you look at the price difference seeing 2 equal looking products and one costs 10-20% less, if course we buy the cheaper product the majority of the time.

I'm referring to trump selling real estate to chinese nationals who are eager to buy up all the real estate they can get their hands on in this country. Trump had no obligation to sell to the Chinese; however he did, knowing full well what their intent was and how much ill will they have towards us.

He was on Rush earlier in the week talking about it. He was condemning the chinese in one sentence , referring to them as enemies and then in the next sentence, boasting about all the great business deals and money he made off the chinese, who in turn, now own a little more of this country thanks to Trump.

So in that sense, making a buck was seemingly more important to Trump that any principles he now professes to have. But again, I understand he's a business man, not a politician, so I do cut him some slack.

I also understand that most products are now manufactured in china and one has little choice but to purchase goods form that country. There is no possible way, without heavy tariffs, the United States can compete with the cheap labor in china. They have no labor laws whatsoever and essentially treat their workers like indentured slaves. They make 5 dollars a day and work 16 hour shifts sometimes. Most of our manufacturing jobs, what remains of them, are union labor that have heavy front-end as well as legacy costs. No way we can complete with that.

It doesn't matter that the quality is better in this country. Quality no longer matters in a global economy. Only the bottom line matters and cheap good, where big block retailers like walmart sell those cheap goods to an American consumer who increasingly is finding they have less dollars to make ends meet.

That’s why china is a major manufacturing country at the present time and will be for the projected future. To top it off, they continue to manipulate the yuan, keeping it artificially low in order to make their goods even cheaper. Unfortunately, obama will do nothing about except make idol threats. This is where Trump may act if elected, or so he says.

At the end of the day, Trump strikes me as one of those guys who talks boldly in public, but would sell his own mother down the river in order to make a buck. I have nothing against Trump, as I actually find him somewhat engaging. I'm not saying I would never vote for him either, i'm just under no illusions as to who the guy really is.

I'll tell you what, I'd much rather have trump any day over Huckabee ,Romney or any of those other retread RINOS that will not go away!

If the economy is in bad shape then Trump will definitely run. But not otherwsie.

I say yes Trump should run for President . he be a hell lot better
then obama . trump is for our country I saw him many time On tv
& he don't like the way american is going they don't have any respect
for our country & that true
Trump said American come first .
& any one Or any President that don't Hold his hand Over his heart at the Pledge of Allegiance I don't Have any respect for & Obama this that
good luck Mr trump

No amnesty

I think our country has evolved into a business entity. Who would be better to run it? Someone that has a proven track record of running a business empire or some academic that wants to try out their theories?

I am weary of all of the recycled Republicans.

Originally Posted by Newmexican

I think our country has evolved into a business entity. Who would be better to run it? Someone that has a proven track record of running a business empire or some academic that wants to try out their theories?

I am weary of all of the recycled Republicans.

I am so on the same page with all that you stated. Trump has gotten himself and his corporate entities out of two bankruptcies and turned around failing businesses.

Enough of the career politicians from both sides of the aisle, the generational curses (aka Bush family members) and the scholarly no nothings (Obama).

America needs a business savvy, worldly knowledgeable, no BS catering to the rest of the world President that loves America and will do what is best for US not the corporate crooks and the rest of the planet. Trump is the perfect example of all of the aforementioned.

Originally Posted by WhatMattersMost

Originally Posted by Newmexican

I think our country has evolved into a business entity. Who would be better to run it? Someone that has a proven track record of running a business empire or some academic that wants to try out their theories?

I am weary of all of the recycled Republicans.

I am so on the same page with all that you stated. Trump has gotten himself and his corporate entities out of two bankruptcies and turned around failing businesses.

What?

How Many Times Has Donald Trump Filed For Bankruptcy?
By: Jennifer Mackin

Break Studios Contributing Writer

For legendary tycoons, Donald Trump tops the list, but how many times has Donald Trump filed for bankruptcy? The 90’s recession wasn’t picky about who it affected. Donald Trump felt the pinch as well. His decision to use high interest bonds to finance the assembly of the Taj Mahal casino caused life to get very stressful for the tycoon.

In 1991, unable to pay a $3.5 billion loan, he declared business bankruptcy. He also came close to filing personal ruin. At the time, his personal debt was estimated to be around $900 million. Due to the bankruptcy, banks and bondholders lost millions. They came to a compromise with Donald Trump. The banks gave him lower interest rates and a longer time frame to repay the debt and Donald Trump gave the investors half the ownership of the Taj Mahal. In mere months the casino was back in business.

Not even a year later, Trump Plaza Hotel folded and Donald had to declare bankruptcy. Again, he worked out a deal where he’d give up 49 percent of the hotel to Citibank and the other lenders and he’d get more time to pay the loan back. It took him two years to repay most of his debt with many sacrifices. He had to give up the Trump Shuttle.

The bankruptcy saga didn’t stop there. In 2004, Donald filed for bankruptcy protection and restructured his debt. He reduced his ownership of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts to 27 percent and gave bondholders stocks to help lower his debt and then stepped down as CEO. In 2005, things settled down and Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts came out of bankruptcy with a new name, Trump Entertainment Resort Holdings.

Unfortunately the reemergence didn’t last long. On February 17th 2009, Donald Trump filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a debt ratio of $50 million in assets to his $500 million in debt. This filing made the third bankruptcy for Trump Enterprises.
Posted on: Apr. 23, 2010

http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-many-time ... uptcy.html

I certainly don't won't someone like Donald Trump managing my tax dollars.


Please read this carefully:

Is Trump 'flip-flopping' or evolving?By Shannon Travis, CNN
February 17, 2011 7:36 a.m. EST

Donald Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action conference in Washington on February 10.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
There is speculation that Donald Trump may consider a White House run
But Trump's party allegiance, and likely his political principles, could come in to question

Report: Trump went from Republican to Independent to Democrat and back to Republican

Washington (CNN) -- If the Republican Party's nominating process were like Donald Trump's TV show "The Apprentice," could he avoid hearing the words "You're fired"?

"The Donald," as the host of the NBC show, holds competitors to high standards. Consistency is encouraged as well as sticking with one's decisions. But can the would-be Republican presidential candidate meet his own test -- and will conservatives hire him?

In a recent interview, Trump declared that he believes "strongly in just about all conservative principles," is "pro-life" and against gay marriage. He has attacked President Obama's health care law and said that the United States has become the "laughingstock" of the world.

This is the same Donald Trump who has changed party affiliation from Republican to Independent to Democrat and back to Republican, according to a report.

Trump has said in interviews with CNN that he identifies more with Democrats than Republicans; that the party handles the economy better than Republicans; that President George W. Bush was "probably the worst president in the history of the United States"; and suggested that Bush should have been impeached for what Trump called "lies" over a "horrendous mistake": the Iraq war.

In 1999, while flirting with running for president under Ross Perot's Reform Party, Trump told the New York Daily News that he supported abortion rights and universal health care.

Trump and his representatives at the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

"I'm a very conservative person. I'm very big into the military. I'm a great guy for defense," Trump told Greta Van Susteren of Fox News. "I am probably as conservative as anybody on your show, and that's going a pretty strong step."

He added: "I'm a very conservative Republican. I believe strongly in just about all conservative principles."

Those comments come on the heels of Trump's appearance last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the high-profile gathering that traditionally serves as an early proving ground for GOP presidential hopefuls.

But Trump's party allegiance, and likely his political principles, could come in to question should he announce a presidential bid.

"I am going to form a presidential exploratory committee," he told CNN's Larry King when he was considering a 1999 run. "And if I felt I couldn't win, I wouldn't run. .... I'm not looking to get more votes than any other independent candidate in history, I'd want to win."

A Daily News report from Monday said that Trump registered with the Independence Party in October 1999, switching from the GOP. The paper cites New York City Board of Elections records.

Trump ultimately never ran for president under the party. And his party ties appear to have changed more since then.

The paper also reported that he became a Democrat in August 2001, according to election records. And in 2004, the real estate mogul praised some Democratic efforts.

In March of that year, CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked whether he identified more as a Democrat or as a Republican.

"Well, you'd be shocked if I said that in many cases I probably identify more as a Democrat," Trump said. "And it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. But certainly, we had some good economies under Democrats as well as Republicans. But we've had some pretty bad disasters under the Republicans. Including a thing called the Depression."

In a March 2007 interview with Blitzer, regarding Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards -- who'd lost the presidential race less than three years prior -- Trump said, "That was a shame that that race was lost." He added this about Kerry: "I'm so upset that he blew it."

It was then that Trump unleashed a harsh criticism of Bush.

"Well, I think Bush is probably the worst president in the history of the United States." Trump cited the war in Iraq, calling it a "total disaster" and added later: "Look, everything in Washington has been a lie. Weapons of mass destruction -- it was a total lie. It was a way of attacking Iraq."

In the same interview, Trump was again asked if he felt more aligned with Democrats or Republicans.

"I'm very much independent in that way. I go for the person, not necessarily the party. I mean, I vote for Republicans and I vote for Democrats," he said.

Months later, just more than a year before the 2008 presidential election, Trump again talked with CNN. He reiterated his belief that Bush was the worst president in U.S. history and claimed that he would be politically toxic to the eventual GOP presidential nominee.

"I think President Bush has to go into a corner and hide, if a Republican is going to get elected," Trump said. "There is no way he's an asset. He's a huge liability."

Mere weeks before the election, Trump amped up his criticism.

In October 2008, while praising House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as "impressive," Trump said he'd initially thought she would go after Bush. "It just seemed like she was going to really look to impeach Bush and get him out of office, which, personally, I think would have been a wonderful thing."

Bush "lied," Trump claimed. "He got us into the war with lies."

That sensational claim has been repeatedly denied by Bush administration officials. A central argument by his administration was that faulty intelligence contributed to the decisions in the run-up to the Iraq war.

To be sure, Trump has taken stances that many Republicans favor: In addition to criticizing Obama at CPAC and questioning the president's re-election chances, Trump supported John McCain in the 2008 presidential race. In an interview with Blitzer in September, Trump said: "I have friends that weren't involved in the health care battle that are now calling me and, in one case, he said his health care bill ... is going to be over $100 million higher than last year."

In the same interview, Trump praised the Tea Party movement as "powerful," decried high income taxes for the wealthy as potential threats to U.S. jobs and blasted what he called the U.S. "spending like drunken sailors."

And yet, Trump also repeated his support for a major issue that's anathema to many Tea Party activists and other conservatives: the bank bailout.

"You had to do something to shore up the banks, because ... you would have had a run on every bank," Trump said.

He said he acknowledged some conservatives' view that ailing banks should have been allowed to fail: " 'If they go out of business, everybody would, that's fine.' "

Previously, in a December 2008 CNN interview, Trump also expressed praise for the auto bailout.

In its Tuesday article, the Daily News quotes Trump as saying this about his changing political affiliation: "I wanted to decide which party best suited my philosophy."

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/17/ ... ndex.html#

Here's what I'd like to draw attention to:

- Trump has changed his party affiliation on four separate ocassions. In other words, he's wishy-washy and going with whatever party he thinks can earn him the most money.

- Trump has said he identifies more with Democrats rather than Republicans, however, he has been quoted as saying, "I'm a very conservative Republican. I believe strongly in just about all conservative principles." Which is it?

- In a recent interview, Trump declared that he believes "strongly in just about all conservative principles," is "pro-life" and against gay marriage. He has attacked President Obama's health care law. However, in 1999 he supported abortion and national health care.

- In 2007 Trump voiced his displeasure that John Kerry lost his race for president. He said, "That was a shame that that race was lost." He added this about Kerry: "I'm so upset that he blew it." Of course Kerry supported government funded abortions, gay marriage, and national health care.

- Trumph thinks Sen. Pelosi is "impressive."

- Trump supported the bank and auto industry bailouts.

- Trump supported Sen. McCain for president.

Donald Trump is a wishy-washy flip flopper and I wouldn't trust him no further than I could throw a two ton boulder! The man is going to tell you what he thinks you want to hear because he has an agenda. I'm not even sure he has any core values. The only thing that is consistent with him is the green he wants to park in his bank account.

Originally Posted by Newmexican

I think our country has evolved into a business entity. Who would be better to run it? Someone that has a proven track record of running a business empire or some academic that wants to try out their theories?

I am weary of all of the recycled Republicans.

He has a proven track record of bankrupty is what he has. Maybe you are liking him because he seems like such a good business man on The Apprentice. It IS his show, and he is not gonna make himself look stupid now is he?

We are all so desperate for some kind of justice.we are willing to consider anyone!!! We just need to keep applying pressure,and make it very clear,that we have had it with the current illegal immigration situation, and we will vote accordingly!

The more I read up on Trump, the more I feel compelled to climb the tallest building I can find and shout - HELL NO TO DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT!

Trump has had a lot of business failures. Moreover, he became rich like a lot of rich families do, he had a rich daddy!

Now let's go buy some Trump steaks, but please let's leave the business of running this country to someone more qualified to do so.



Selling steaks on a home shopping network, books on how to become rich (Donald started out with family money), selling his name to a line of menswear, and building a failed casino does not qualify him for President of the United States. Furthermore, neither does randomly insulting others through the media to feed a huge ego. The man is a loser and has no idea what the word 'humble' means. I highly recommend those supporting Trump do some serious research on the man.

Like the rest of you, I too am tired of career politicans. With that said, I'm also extremely tired of celebrity wannabes.