If everyone knew then what we know now, would Trump still have won the primary?

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

I'm convinced that there are enough true believers out there to say yes.

[Fargobison]

The party would have ended him, whether in the primary itself or in Cleveland.

[Classic Conservative]

The party would have ended him, whether in the primary itself or in Cleveland.

[Erc]

The sad thing is we don't really know anything more now than we did then.  Everyone knew he was a misogynistic, racist clown but they still enabled, voted for, and endorsed him.

Apparently it takes tape though...if this had come out in January or February, it would have destroyed him.

[heatcharger]

The sad thing is we don't really know anything more now than we did then.  Everyone knew he was a misogynistic, racist clown but they still enabled, voted for, and endorsed him.

Apparently it takes tape though...if this had come out in January or February, it would have destroyed him.

Exactly... we already knew that Trump says horrible things about women, including his own daughter. That was all on the record well before he entered the race. In fact, Megyn Kelly brought it up in that first debate, but all the other candidates on stage let it slide.

The general election electorate is somewhat more reasonable than the Republican primary electorate.

[TarHeelDem]

He still would have won the nomination. His supporters are blinded by their bigotry. As Trump pointed out, he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and still win their votes. Truly sad.

[Wisconsin+17]

Some of us folks *DID* know this stuff. Why do you think we were #NeverTrump?

[dspNY]

No. The stuff about "grabbing" women in the fashion Trump describes would turn off a lot of holy rollers. He would have lost most of the Southern states to Cruz

[Koharu]

The sad thing is we don't really know anything more now than we did then.  Everyone knew he was a misogynistic, racist clown but they still enabled, voted for, and endorsed him.

Apparently it takes tape though...if this had come out in January or February, it would have destroyed him.

Exactly... we already knew that Trump says horrible things about women, including his own daughter. That was all on the record well before he entered the race. In fact, Megyn Kelly brought it up in that first debate, but all the other candidates on stage let it slide.

The general election electorate is somewhat more reasonable than the Republican primary electorate.

Exactly. All of this was known and was obvious. It's what made him appealing to many people. Those are the people who helped vote him in. Now that there's tape, there's no denying what he's like, so of course Republicans are jumping ship. Before they could pretend it didn't exist, but now they can't.

[White Trash]

Yep. He wouldn't have made it past Iowa.

[Iosif]

Lol

This isn't a surprise. The first question of the first debate was Megyn Kelly listing some of the horrible sh**t that's come out of the horrible sh**t's mouth. Everybody knew what we know now, Republicans just ignored it. They're running away from him now out of craven self preservation.

This is on them.

[Yank2133]

Lol

This isn't a surprise. The first question of the first debate was Megyn Kelly listing some of the horrible sh**t that's come out of the horrible sh**t's mouth. Everybody knew what we know now, Republicans just ignored it. They're running away from him now out of craven self preservation.

This is on them.

This.

[BoAtlantis]

Yes of course. 2020 early poll shows Pence earning 22% of support, Ryan and Trump still earning 13% each. If Trump still manages to earn 13% despite all of these, it says a lot about the GOP voters.

[pbrower2a]

I'm a Democrat -- but if Donald Trump had run as a Democrat and used boilerplate liberalism and had made contradictory promises, expressed religious or ethnic bigotry, called for or condoned attacks on opponents, and offered a cranky foreign policy I would have voted against him in the primaries... and I would almost certainly be voting for the Republican in the general election.

I'm looking to see what polls show about him next week. I'm not predicting yet.

[Famous Mortimer]

Absolutely.

No one is actually that upset by this leaked audio (which they probably knew about during the primaries, it stars Jeb's cousin of course). It's just that they are making one final push to get rid of him and they needed an excuse. This is the best they could come up with.

Kind of like how Labour used Corbyn not being enthusiastic enough about Remain as a excuse to try to get rid of him.

I'm not saying Trump's comments weren't bad, but the reaction to them as if they are so much worse than anything else he has said is pretty obviously feigned. It only makes sense if you accept that it's merely an excuse for the GOP establishment to try to force Trump out in favor of Pence.

[Mallow]

I'm a Democrat -- but if Donald Trump had run as a Democrat and used boilerplate liberalism and had made contradictory promises, expressed religious or ethnic bigotry, called for or condoned attacks on opponents, and offered a cranky foreign policy I would have voted against him in the primaries... and I would almost certainly be voting for the Republican in the general election.

I'm looking to see what polls show about him next week. I'm not predicting yet.

This. Several months ago I wondered to myself this same scenario... would I vote for Trump just because he was the Democrat? I am fairly certain I would not. There are lines that shouldn't be crossed by presidential candidates, regardless of ideology, and Trump has crossed many of them.

[Rand]

He would have still won. His loyalist supporters do not care. He is the anti-politician and millions are convinced that, regardless of what he says or does, he is a necessary risk in this election.

[Sir Mohamed]

I think yes. However, I wouldn't win it again 2020 if he tries.

[BaldEagle1991]

No. The stuff about "grabbing" women in the fashion Trump describes would turn off a lot of holy rollers. He would have lost most of the Southern states to Cruz

I think it would be split between Cruz and Rubio.

Rubio would've won his home of FL, GA, and AL.

Cruz would've won his home of TX, LA, AR, TN, and the Carolinas.