Tag: Donald Trump

Only Nine Presidential Elections Had Smaller Electoral College Wins than Donald’s

Buck Banks

44th of 54

Nate Silver: “In a historical context, Trump’s Electoral College performance is decidedly below-average… There have been 54 presidential elections since the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804. (Before that, presidential electors cast two votes each, making it hard to compare them to present-day elections.) Of those 54 cases, Trump’s share of the electoral vote — assuming there are no faithless electors or results overturned by recounts — ranks 44th.”

Kellyanne Conway: Presidency Will be Donald’s ‘Day Job’

Jon Ponder

It’s tempting to think that Kellyanne Conway, Donald’s robotically always-on-message spokesperson, made a classic Kinsey gaffe — meaning, she accidentally told the truth — in this Nov. 17 interview on Fox when she twice described the presidency as Donald’s “day job.” But it’s more likely it wasn’t a gaffe of any sort, but rather simply the truth.

After all, when his team tried to recruit Ohio Gov. John Kasich to run as Donald’s vice president, the conversation went like this:

[…]

Hey Donald, the Press and the Dems Are Watching …

Buck Banks

I don’t know if there’s anyone around him who can convince him that the attitude with which he’s operated for 50 years must end, and something wholly new and different begin. … But whoever does must be aware of this: The press, which wants to kill him, is going to zero in on his biggest weak spot: money, profit, the deal. Democrats too will watch like hawks. And this is understandable! Presidents shouldn’t ever give the impression things aren’t on the up and up. And Mr. Trump campaigned saying he’d dismantle the rigged system, drain the swamp, fight the racket.

— Peggy Noonan

In Case You Needed Another Reason to Wage War on Xmas

Buck Banks

screen-shot-2016-11-23-at-12-45-15-pm
In another sign that Donald Trump plans to be our first entrepreneurial president, he is selling Christmas tree ornaments in the shape of his red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap on the Trump-Pence website.

The iconic symbol from the Trump campaign is made of brass and finished in 24-karat gold. Oh, and it’s just $149.

Electors Seeking to Deny Trump’s Election

Buck Banks

6

“Number of Democratic electors who “have signed onto an attempt to block Donald Trump from winning an Electoral College majority, an effort designed not only to deny Trump the presidency but also to undermine the legitimacy of the institution,” Politico reports. “Even the most optimistic among the Democratic electors acknowledges they’re unlikely to convince the necessary 37 Republican electors to reject Trump — the number they’d likely need to deny him the presidency and send the final decision to the House of Representatives. And even if they do, the Republican-run House might simply elect Trump anyway.”

Trump’s Obsession with the ‘Small and Unimportant’

Buck Banks

In campaign world, rapid response is vital. In governance, it can be lethal if it’s in reaction to things small and unimportant. It just strikes me as crazy that the soon-to-be leader of the free world would be waking up each morning this weekend and tweeting comments about what someone said at a play in New York.

— Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC), on Facebook.

Trump’s Popularity has Risen Since Election

Buck Banks

46%

Of voters now have a very favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of the president-elect. Twelve percent have a somewhat unfavorable opinion and 34% have a very unfavorable opinion of him, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll of registered voters. “Trump’s favorability has grown 9 points, 37% to 46%, compared to a Morning Consult poll right before the election — while his unfavorability has dropped 15 points, from 61% to 46%.”

The Independent Party of Trump Won the Election

Buck Banks

What has stood in the way of people running as an independent is that winning the presidency in a system that so clearly favors the two major parties is something of a hopeless cause. … Trump took the elements of an independent candidacy — the lack of clear ideology, the name recognition of a national celebrity and the personal fortune needed to fund a presidential campaign — and then did what no one seemed to have thought of before. He staged a hostile takeover of an existing major party. He had the best of both worlds, an outsider candidacy with crosscutting ideological appeal and the platform of a major party to wage the general election. By the time he had finished, he had taken down two political dynasties: the Bush dynasty in the primaries and the Clinton dynasty in the general election.

— Dan Balz