My main problem (with the book) so far

[malaise]

is the 'he did not expect to win' all over Ch1

[lunatica]

1. Why? Don't you believe it?

I think no one in Trumps circles expected him to win.

I also think that Comey's announcement a week before worked a lot in his favor.

[malaise]

15. Then why all the conspiracy and collusion?

Bangs head!

[Cirque du So-What]

24. Perhaps

the conspiracy & collusion was just to placate pooty-poot. Perhaps he was indulging his Russian puppetmasters as a means to keep funds from the well-laundered piggybank flowing and he was as flabbergasted as anyone else when he found out the charade had worked a bit too well.

[malaise]

25. I hear you

[stevenleser]

37. Because he wanted to win. Doesn't expect to win does not equal Doesnt WANT to win.

He had a plan if he lost to turn all the campaign publicity into cash for his businesses I am sure.

[emulatorloo]

2. Why? Most all polling indicated HRC was going to win.

Seems logical he and his campaign expected HRC to win.

[appalachiablue]

13. Yes, HRC was was to win, in the polls, and by population as the real numbers reflected.

The T. camp was likely very surprised based on much that I've read, esp. here.

The election shock reverberated for months for me and millions, and still blisters and burns. Experiencing the first big one I was stunned but functional-- Reagan in 1980. In DC then, I wanted to implode and saw it from the beginning, the Regime and endured all 12 years.

There was far less systemic dysfunction and erosion of democratic institutions years back, bad as it was then and in hindsight.
Now the steady, mounting resistance to blatant, widespread corruption, the opposition by very capable officials and continued belief in our democracy is encouraging. It must get better. My thoughts and hopes anyway.

[rzemanfl]

3. Even though he was working with the Russians, why would he expect to win?

Worst candidate in the modern era, how could he expect to win? Even the Russians were surprised. I myself thought Drumpf was trying hard to lose.

[Siwsan]

4. I think his 'master plan' was to exploit the loss for publicity and financial gain

Which is pretty much his motivation for everything he does.

Now he is stuck with the job, is way over his head, and he is descending deeper and deeper into delusion and dementia. He is the perfect puppet.

[appalachiablue]

10. +1

[DeminPennswoods]

34. Yep

nt

[samnsara]

5. i agree they didnt expect to win..they were gleaning all the celeb...

..status and perks of being a candidate...after all that's much more fun than actually....governing! He and his family are grifters and all they wanted was to make money off of this. NOW THEY ARE GOING TO JAIL!

hooohaaa karmas a bitch.

[HipChick]

6. My review of book so far..

[malaise]

16. ROFL

[Zoonart]

7. I have to agree with you, Malaise.

If the Russian collusion was quid-pro-quo... would they not have expected to win? Its that the ultimate ratfuckery of this book?
To take the air our of the quid-pro-quo argument?
Just asking. It seems that the book accomplishes two things.... it makes 45 look totally incompetent, by many measures and multi confirmations. It also dilutes the argument that the the fix was... if it were, they would have know they would win. Ergo... not guilty by reason of diminished capacity. My dope was an innocent dupe?

He'd rather be seen as a doddering fool than be in an orange jumpsuit. It does not, however, save him from the money laundering charges that will be the kicker.

[triron]

21. Again here is my post from a few days ago

Some of the responses seemed to explain this to some degree.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210062658

[malaise]

27. It's troubling me too

We sure didn't expect him to win but if this is true then why were the high ups in Congress keeping the secret.
Why did McConnell diss Obama's judicial nominee and so on?

[malaise]

26. Yep

That's bothering me

[hlthe2b]

8. Why? O'Donnell and others said this all along--that it was just a money making/ego building

exercise... His appeasement and promises to the Russians merely helped cement (or he thought) cooperation in Trump Russia dealings after the election.

[More_Cowbell]

9. Trump's friend Howard Stern has said all along that he didn't want to win

I believe that he wanted to expand his brand for a new TV network he was trying to create. I also think that he and the rest of the GOP felt like just trying to elect Trump would pay off their debts. The GOP really wanted to just get other GOP candidates elected, and no other GOP candidate was as likely to bring voters to the voting booth as Trump was.

We already know that Trump doesn't like to work.

[Roland99]

11. Who was the woman who led his campaign early on?

She left the campaign as it was starting to go off the rails.

She was quoted as saying they didn’t expect to win just to make waves. Now were in over their heads.

[appalachiablue]

17. If you mean Kellyanne Conway the campaign mgr., then WH advisor,

she made several lame remarks and was given another assignment, the opioid issue I think.

[Roland99]

22. No. Someone who came to reality. Was like spring of 2016

[malaise]

28. Katie Walsh

Last edited Sat Jan 6, 2018, 09:05 PM - Edit history (1)

[Roland99]

32. Found it!!!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210068239

[appalachiablue]

33. Good work! What an admission, she really laid it all out, quite a broad

and in depth explanation of his 'character' and justification for her actions. This woman saw the light, but given his obvious limitations how she or anyone could think he was capable of engaging in policy is beyond me. The part about blaming interns for mistakes was interesting, so in line with the well known callous lack of concern for anything but self/ego.

Anyway, now we're set with this administration, for the time being.

[malaise]

40. Thanks

The Katie lady was the Dep. Chief of staff

[Irish_Dem]

12. I saw a TV clip of Trump when he heard he had won. He looked stunned and not happy. nt

[Phoenix61]

14. I don't think he wanted to win

I think the repubs desperately wanted him to win. They saw him for what he is, an easily manipulated, stupid, greedy, little man. Look how well the Chinese played him. However, they missed that he is completely capable of turning on anyone in a New York minute if he perceives he has been slighted. They should have paid more attention to how he treated Cohn.

[appalachiablue]

18. Yes he dumped Roy Cohn after all that time, very fast, no issue.

[davsand]

19. I have thought all along that he never expected to win.

That's not terribly far fetched given the polls at the time, either.

I am now starting to wonder, however, if part of his reported shock the night of the election was a realization that he had suddenly been catapulted into the place where his Russian interactions were gonna face scrutiny. Had he lost, I think Russian activities might have still been a subject (news had reported hacks at some state election authorities, etc.) but his win coupled with the polling data made some scrutiny almost certain. I saw an excerpt of the book that described him as almost in a panic when he won. Does that sound like a guy that wanted to win and was comfortable with how that wing happened? I don't think so, personally.

He's not terribly bright--I truly believe that. He is, however, bright enough to recognize when he and his family are heading into a life under a magnifying glass. Think of it as being like a roach running for cover when the kitchen light turns on.


Laura

[malaise]

29. Interesting take

[ProudLib72]

30. I agree with you

He honestly did not believe he would win. Why? Because he was probably not told half of the things the GOP and Russia were doing to make the election swing in his favor. Oh, I think he knew something was going on, but it was just a vague notion that he was being helped. They knew he was too stupid to be trusted with all the details. When he told Russia to hack the DNC before the general, you had better believe there were Russian and GOP heads shaking, thinking "Thank God we kept the majority of information out of his hands!"

And that brings us to today. I think he still only has a vague notion of what all transpired to get him elected. He knows a fraction of all the information. In fact, I'm not even sure he wants to fire Mueller because he will bring charges. It could be that tRump just doesn't want to have an investigation that tarnishes his brand. That is, he has zero idea of the trouble he is in. That's why his lawyers have taken to lying to him so he won't say anything incriminating or do anything that lands him in even more trouble.

[triron]

20. I posted the same thought in a thread a few days ago

Here is the thread. You may be interested in these responses.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210062658

[uponit7771]

23. It can NO DOUBT be both that he didn't expect to win ... EVEN THOUGH ... he got help from Russia

... the help from Russia wasn't guaranteeing a win.

[loyalsister]

31. When there is interference in elections, the winner comes under investigation

Trump would be much happier sitting back and watching an investigation of a HRC administration.

[ecstatic]

35. Colluding with Russia doesn't necessarily guarantee a victory

And just because your chances of winning seem low, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to win (ask Doug Jones about this). I think they were enjoying themselves--making deals and connections, and planning the next chapter, Breitbart TV.

[triron]

38. That's true. Tampering with the vote count sure helped as well.

And then the shit that happened 10 days before the election was helpful to their cause.

[eleny]

36. maybe he wanted to be the turd in the punchbowl

[hunter]

39. Remember all those old submarine movies...

... when they'd stuff everything that floats into the torpedo tubes and fire it out, hoping the ships above dropping depth charges would think they'd succeeded in sinking the sub and go away?

It seems to me this is kinda like that.

When a fraction of this book is proven to be bullshit, Trump supporters will believe every rotten thing they hear about Trump is bullshit.