Donald Trump seems to think that a presidential election is like the season finale of The Apprentice–always leave ’em hanging. He’s about to find out just how wrong he is.
For about the first thirty minutes of the debate, Trump was as disciplined as he can be (which isn’t much). And then the real Donald emerged, and in one critical moment, he committed political suicide.
“I will look at it at the time. I’m not looking at anything now, I will look at it at the time.” That was Trump’s response to the question of whether he will accept the results of the election.
There were plenty of other Trump disasters–refusing to acknowledge that Russia hacked Democratic emails, calling Clinton a “nasty woman” with no frame of reference, condemning “bad hombres.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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But nothing compares to his refusal to say he will accept the results of the election. Moderator Chris Wallace all but led Trump to say the right thing by talking about “one of the prides of this country… the peaceful transition of power.” Trump refused to bite.
Whether Trump realized it or not, but he set himself up for universal condemnation. Reporters are already proclaiming this “an extraordinary departure from a fundamental principle of American democracy.” His comments are guaranteed to dominate the headlines for days to come. If he thought the media was against him before, wait until he sees coverage over the next week.
Moreover, every Republican candidate is now going to be asked whether he or she will accept the election results. As if it wasn’t bad enough to have to respond to Trump’s Access Hollywood tape, now they have to go on record to say that they support our democratic norms because the man at the top of the ticket does not. Faced with the fallout Trump’s remarks may have on their own races, Republicans will issue endless statements condemning the comments (but probably still keep their endorsements of Trump).
Trump probably thought he was appealing to his base. But he may just end up finding out how small his base is. He has been in polling free fall since the first debate, and now he is likely to see his decline accelerate.
Clinton had some sticky moments in the debate as well as some fine ones. Her response to the question of whether the Clinton Foundation granted special status to donors was clumsy. Fortunately, Trump kept interrupting Clinton, saving her from her own answers. In general, though, Clinton showed herself to be steady, calm and knowledgeable–everything Trump was not.
As an interesting aside, both candidates did get a word in edgewise about our issues. Clinton promised to appoint a marriage equality supporter to the Supreme Court. Trump thinks it’s terrible that the Clinton Foundation took money from “people that push gays off buildings.” Of course, he didn’t say what he’d do about it.
With 20 days to go, there was little chance that Trump could turn the election around. But tonight he did something even more extraordinary. He broke a compact that the nation has held in trust for centuries. He’s about to find out just how expensive a blunder that was.
Kangol
He’s done. Whatever the election outcome, he’s shown he’s got serious problems and lacks self-control. This man bragged about sexually assaulting women then lied on stage that he hadn’t done so, and trashed the women he assaulted again. He also lied about not apologizing to his wife (she said he did, on tape), mocking a disabled person (on tape), etc. He’s pathological. GOP, you could have won this election had you not let the crazy people take over your party. John Kasich would be coasting to the presidency right now. Instead, you chose a narcissistic, entitled, endlessly projecting authoritarian nutcase and a raging homophobe. When will you learn?
ClarkKent
“He broke a compact that the nation has held in trust for centuries. ”
Lol. By centuries, do you mean “since 2000”?
Two words: hanging chads
So he said he’ll challenge the election results if he thinks they weren’t lawful. And? The Democrats did it in 2000 when Gore lost.
The only tradition that remains unbroken is one of a *non-violent* transfer of power, and Trump said nothing at all that indicates he would resort to violence. Trump will do what he’s always done: sue. And that’s exactly what courts are there for.
Relax.
ClarkKent
“This man bragged about sexually assaulting women”
No, he didn’t. He bragged about women letting him grope them. You don’t believe him and so you mentally change his wording in your head to “Those women said No, but I did it anyway.” Trouble for you is that isn’t what he said. So quit lying.
ErikO
Elections are rigged and the media is biased, and both parties are the same. This is why I did not watch the debate and why I’m voting for Jill Stein.
joeyty
Loved the part where Hillary couldn’t even remember how many were killed at the Pulse massacre. “..uh….uhh…dozens…in..Orlando..”
Kangol
@ClarkKent: Nope, HE’S LYING. “Grab em by the pussy.” He said he did that when he only thought a fellow “bro” was listening. But support him all you want. He’s a serial sexual assaulter and pathological liar. Don’t think women voters aren’t paying attention.
joeyty
@Kangol: Bill Clinton is the serial abuser of women.
ClarkKent
@Kangol: Here’s the full transcript from a source you should trust: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/donald-trump-tape-transcript.html?_r=0
Once you read it, you’ll notice what he says immediately before this seemingly immortal line: “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
I’ll write that again, in case you missed it: THEY LET YOU DO IT.
Now, obviously, you think he’s lying here. You think he actually forced himself on these women and they were maybe too scared to fight back or tried and failed, etc. And who knows, that may be true. As I said, it isn’t what the transcript says, and it isn’t what Trump said.
ClarkKent
Trump: grab ’em by the pussy because they let you.
Queerty: stare at random dudes’ “morning goods” which you got from Internet stalking them.
Tell me again why Trump is an assaulter of women, but sites like Queerty respect men’s bodies…
Brian
Well, there is evidence of voter fraud already.
Hillary had no answers on illegal immigration and has a very liberal attitude to aborting babies. Some of those babies would grow up to be productive gay citizens.
Captain proton
If you want this election to make any sense at all, subscribe to the conspiracy theory that clinton hired trump to run against her for the presidency, guaranteeing her win.
Brian
And let’s not forget that Hillary tolerates a man who exploited a young intern in the White House for his personal sexual pleasure. She put her man’s right to receive an extra-marital blow-job ahead of the right of women to be free of exploitation.
She’s no supporter of women.
Juanjo
@ClarkKent: This pathetic attempt tp compare the Orange Baby’s ranting about how everyone is cheating him out of his rightful accession to the throne with Gore challenging the results of a specific election result is a classic false equivalency.
Donald has a long history of claiming that the system is rigged against him. Clinton rightfully pointed out that he claimed this when his pathetic little television program did not win an Emmy. The Republicans were rigging the nomination against him and the primaries against him. The media is plotting against him. Clinton is plotting to rig the elections and steal the election and the Republicans are also rigging the general election against him.
Gore challenged specific issues involved in the general election in Florida after initially being declared the winner and losing by a mere handful of votes. He asked for a recount which was in his legal rights to do. When he tried to get that recount expanded to include other counties than the original ones the Supreme Court ultimately ruled against him. He accepted that ruling, conceded and did so with grace.
Big difference from an out of control 70 year old man acting like a 3 year old screaming how he is being cheated with no evidence to support any of his nonsense.
Brian
@Juanjo: The Supreme Court ruled against Gore’s attempt to become President. Gore did not succeed in a court of law. Ever heard of the law?
Bob LaBlah
@ClarkKent: Your just as disturbed as he is (Trump).
BigWill
@joeyty: That’s really going to hurt Bill Clinton in this election.
leobaga
She thinks we live in a world of peace due to her accomplishments and just gave them the our nuclear response time… WTH.. and why would she keep talking about the fact that Russia hacked those emails when she’s been insisting there’s no way her emails could have been hacked for the last couple years? She’s in a lala land all her own….
leobaga
Let me see.. Hillary: deleted emails, Benghazi, pay to play, paying people to riot at Trump rallys, having access to questions before debates… all proven to be true. And it’s only the tip of her illegal mountain. or .. Trump: .. supposedly touched women over 30 years ago, but not proven in a court yet, and said the word pussy… hmmm.. hard choice… I think I will choose the one NOT committing illegal crimes. Trump 2016!
Ander
@ClarkKent: you actually believe that a victim of unwanted sexual assault must explicitly say “no” in order for it not to be sexual assault?
OMG.
RIGay
@ClarkKent: But in the end, Al Gore accepted the outcome graciously, losing the election by less than 1000 votes.
Gian85
TRUMP 2016
gaym50ish
“I have great respect for women…” except for Hillary, who’s “crooked” and “nasty,” Rosie, who’s “untalented,” “a loser” and “cracking up,” Alicia Machado, who’s “fat” and “disgusting”… and let’s not forget all those women who are “liars” because they dared to accuse him of groping.
In other words, Trump has great respect for women as long as they’re beautiful, subservient and will let him get away with attempted rape.
Brian
Oh, please, this is a bit rich of Hillary. The Democrats refused to accept the result of the 2000 election. It took weeks to obtain a result as they took the Florida vote count to the Supreme Court.
The Democrats are hypocrites.
Mo Bro
And in other news, WikiLeaks is slowly slitting Clinton’s throat, a little bit at a time If liberals would pay attention to facts, they’d know this.
@leobaga:
But Trump hurt people’s feeeelings, whereas Clinton only steals and murders.
Jeez, where’re your progressive sensibilities?
o.codone
America is so mentally ill that we just witnessed a presidential candidate endorse killing unborn babies in the most hideous and violent way possible and nobody flinched. The baby comes halfway out, the “doctor” cuts it’s spinal cord at the back of the neck as it struggles in excruciating pain, and then takes the unborn victim of the atrocity and disposes of it as medical waste. There are about 16,000 of these “procedures” per year. America is not a good country as Hillary claims, it is perverse, violent and cruel. Nice going America, nobody flinched.
Kieran
Questioning US elections is such a HORRID assault on our democracy!!
And by the way, Never Forget: George W. Bush was SELECTED, NOT ELECTED!!
jdboston617
To me his ridiculous performance(s)/stance/tactics further demonstrate that he does NOT want to be president and never wanted to be in the first place. He wanted the additional fame, pseudo-glory, and likely some post election deal of some kind. He is doing nothing but flaming the fears of the extremist, disenfranchised conservatives. It’s sad that his followers do not see themselves for what they are to Trump: foolish pawns following blindly like a clan or cult. Trump is a dangerous creature and not a leader in any way shape or form. He’s a sick, old disgusting bag of piss that needs to have his mic permanently removed from his little old hand.
PLEASE VOTE. He needs to be CRUSHED in the election or his movement will continue.
crowebobby
@joeyty: Why would you expect her to remember the exact number people who were killed at the Pulse massacre? I’ve been gay for 65 years and I don’t remember. This may be the most important event of the decade for you, but there have been so many other massacres, both here an abroad, that have been important for a politician to keep track of, Pulse is not likely to be the most important for anyone who isn’t gay.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
@o.codone: A waste indeed. An obscene waste….of good protein.
leobaga
?As far as “disqualifying” is concerned, yes it was stupid of him of, maybe he could have worded it better like: “Unless there are massive alleagations of fraud in a close election, I will accept the results.” But still, Clinton is running for Presidency, and 4 star general is going to jail for 10 months for doing exactly what she did and at a much smaller scale. So she is disqualified too.?
?Democrats forget too easily how Al Gore refused to accept election results and still doesn’t accept it. 36 recounts in Florida, until SCOTUS said ENOUGH!. John Kerry still believes Ohio was stolen from him in 2004 as exposed by Wikileaks. But I guess, voter fraud or rigging allegations are much worse when it comes from Republicans. None of this is to defend Trump refusing to accept results, just pointing out the hypocrisy. ?
?Did you read the news from yesterday that nationally there are 2.5 million voters that are registered in more than one state to vote. Do you think those numbers are enough to tilt the election in some states? Well, I do.?
?By the way, what is the problem with having Voter ID for everyone who votes? Never understood the objection from Dems . There maybe 10,000 fraud votes or 1 million fraud votes, may tilt or may not tilt election in a stae, I think everyone who votes sould have a voter ID.?
?That Washington shopping mall shooter? He was from Turkey, a non citizen and he voted in US elections 3 times. God knows how many non citizens vote in US elections and how many fraudster vote multiple times….and everytime cases of fraud comes up…..ohhh there are only few, happens only sometimes…Then why don’t plug the gap? Shouldn’t it be about about rule of law rather than the SCALE of fraud? No one knows the scale of voter fraud until everyone who frauds is caught, you are a criminal only if you are caught?
?We are probably the only first world country that doesn’t require voter IDs for voting, just plain ridiculous. Are we worse than India, where 400 million people have average daily income of $1.25 but still everyone has voter ID when they go to vote? As I said, never understood the argument about “voter suppression” from Dems if Voter IDs are required. Even very poor third world countries have Voter ID requirements?
jdboston617
@crowebobby: Not to be a dickhead, dude, but the Pulse, or Orlando, massacre was only months ago and sadly it was the largest mass shooting in US history. An important and tragic distinction.
It is not only an LGBT concern. It is a concern for humanity.
Gates
If you vote for Gary or Jill you in essence taking a vote from Hillary and giving one to Trump Even if you don’t like Hillary you have to keep Trump from winning at all costs.
ErikO
@Gates: Keep telling yourself that. I’m still voting for either Jill or Gary as they are far better candidates than either Hillary or Donald are, and the democrats and Republicans have been the same for decades, and we are moving towards a one party system.
Stilinski26
She was laughing when Trump said gays are being thrown off the building!
Charlie in Charge
All of this pearl clutching from the Anti-Choice Log Cabin Republicans is ridiculous. Hillary Clinton said she wants to keep abortions safe, legal, and rare. Women need to be able to make the best choices for their own bodies. Fatal birth defects are often discovered after the first trimester — you really want women and fetuses to suffer cruelly because you would prefer they not have the right to do what is best? Very sad indeed.
Also, people keep bringing up Bill Clinton and Monica as some kind of response to Donald’s statements of glee about grabbing women’s genitals?
1. Bill is not running for office.
2. Bill was impeached for that.
ClarkKent
@Charlie in Charge: I agree. Bill is irrelevant. Instead of talking about his rapes, people should be talking about Hillary’s aiding and abetting him in concealing his crimes. Cover-ups are apparently one of her (many) specialties in the darker arts.
ClarkKent
@Ander: Yep, sure do. In other news, I also don’t believe in mind-reading.
o.codone
@Charlie in Charge: Hillary thinks partial-birth abortion is fine. It’s a hideous, barbaric, cruel and violent crime. Think about it. You really want this kind of “choice”?