President Trump vs Stephen Colbert

[CivicParticipant]

What would the map look like?

[Kingpoleon]

I don't know. Colbert can be very charismatic, but he also comes across as an ideologue at times.

[Pericles]

I don't know. Colbert can be very charismatic, but he also comes across as an ideologue at times.

Not a problem-it's not like Trump's a moderate or Hillary Clinton was an extremist. Colbert will win.

[GGover]

If Trump can win, Colbert can definitely win.

[Strudelcutie4427]

Trump 2016 plus ME-AL, NH, MN, NM, NV, CO

[Devout Centrist]

Colbert is a charismatic guy, he could run rhetorical circles around the President.

[NEW JERSEY FOR MENENDEZ]

President Donald J. Trump (R-NY)/Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN) - 355 EV
Stephen Colbert (D-NJ)/Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) - 183 EV

Honestly, Colbert wouldn't stand a chance. He's overly dramatic, his show has become an anti-Trump rant, he got offended over Trump having more than one scoop of ice cream, and he's one of the many Hollywood elitists that think they know what the common man wants.

[Slick Willie]

It's really hard to say because we don't know the circumstances that lead to Colbert winning the Democratic Primary. If by some miracle Colbert survived the primaries and made it to the general election, I'd imagine that he'd lose pretty handily to Trump.

Trump had a certain sort of appeal that I just don't see Colbert having. Trump had been a name in politics for a while before he decided to run for President a second time. He was always flirting with the prospect of running for President again, and had built a sort of cult following after leading the birther movement against Obama. Trump had a much broader appeal to Rust Belt voters than any Republican in recent memory because of his "America first" policy and anti free-trade pitch, and he was the toughest candidate when it came to immigration. Those were the two issues that I think won him the election. Not to mention, he's very anti-establishment and "tells it like it is."

I think Colbert would be perceived by most people as being part of the liberal media establishment, and Trump would have no problem framing him as such.

I just can't see Colbert surviving because he has no obvious appeals besides being anti-Trump and can easily be framed as being part of the liberal media establishment. Not to mention, Trump will be an incumbent President with four years of experience under his belt:

President Donald J. Trump (R-NY)/Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN) - 355 EV
Stephen Colbert (D-NJ)/Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) - 183 EV

I believe this is accurate.

[AppleJackass]

Trump easily wins

[Bismarck]

Colbert is less in touch with the average person than Hillary Clinton was. Trump is extremely unpopular so Colbert still may win, but sarcasm and smugness can only get you so far.

[Mr. Smith]

He either runs into similar problems Kerry faced with Bush Jr, or he wins bigly by winning all the states Hillary was projected to win in August last year, with South Carolina lost by single digits.

John Stewart would be better if this is the game being played.

[Tancred]

Colbert is an interesting guy. He is originally from South Carolina and a Roman Catholic. He is very charismatic. The biggest obstacle for Colbert would be the inevitable attempts to paint him as a Hollywood elitist but Trump was able to successfully run a populist campaign despite the fact that he is a billionaire New Yorker who also had a career in the entertainment industry.

I think Colbert could be a tough challenger if he can run a campaign with a clear, positive message. Just making fun of Trump and running a "Trump is terrible so vote for me" campaign won't work, Colbert would have to show Americans that he is serious about being president and has real ideas. Trump did that with his campaign, making things like trade and immigration his big issues and I think people found that compelling.

[Sir Mohamed]

I'm not sure how exactly the map would look like, but given the fact that Colbert is a very charismatic dude, I think he would unseat Trump. Colbert would just troll the heck out of Trump and drive him crazy.

If Colbert runs a campaign as an outsider with somewhat generic Democratic positions and Trump's approval stays in the high 30s, maybe this?

✓ Comedian Stephen Colbert (D-SC)/Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ): 308 EVs.; 50.4%
President Donald Trump (R-NY)/Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN): 230 EVs.; 46.6%

[kyc0705]

I'd vote for Stephen Colbert. I don't know how many other people would, though.

[Bidenworth2020]

easy win  for Colbert

[TJ in Oregon]

Colbert is an interesting guy. He is originally from South Carolina and a Roman Catholic. He is very charismatic. The biggest obstacle for Colbert would be the inevitable attempts to paint him as a Hollywood elitist but Trump was able to successfully run a populist campaign despite the fact that he is a billionaire New Yorker who also had a career in the entertainment industry.

I think Colbert could be a tough challenger if he can run a campaign with a clear, positive message. Just making fun of Trump and running a "Trump is terrible so vote for me" campaign won't work, Colbert would have to show Americans that he is serious about being president and has real ideas. Trump did that with his campaign, making things like trade and immigration his big issues and I think people found that compelling.

But is Colbert capable of running with a clear, positive message? Transitioning from a heckler to a positive vision is harder than people might think. After all, when you actually argue a positive view, you'll get a batch of hecklers yourself. Trump managed to simply provoke the hecklers over and over again throughout while taking advantage of an existing political vacuum. Can Colbert do something like that? In what ways would Colbert represent views that are held but not expressed in our political and media establishment?

[Spiral]

Another consideration: Colbert grew up with a Southern accent but has suppressed it because, by his own admission, he didn't want to sound stupid to others. Trump would surely hit him on that and further paint him as an elitist. If Colbert were to let the accent slip on the campaign trail, he'd then just be seen as opportunistic.

[President Johnson]

I don't know Colbert's ideological stances, so it's hard to predict a certain outcome. But he's absolutely a rhetorical talent and very likeable and charismatic. It also looks like that he has no baggage. With Trump's current level of support, which is not expected to increase significantly over the next three years, every somewhat sane Democrat should be capable to defeat Trump.

If Colbert really runs, I would be favorable towards him. I'd certainly support him over folks like Warren, Cuomo, Gabbard or O'Malley. The bigger question is: Is he really going to run or consider running? I doubt it.

[Tancred]

Colbert is an interesting guy. He is originally from South Carolina and a Roman Catholic. He is very charismatic. The biggest obstacle for Colbert would be the inevitable attempts to paint him as a Hollywood elitist but Trump was able to successfully run a populist campaign despite the fact that he is a billionaire New Yorker who also had a career in the entertainment industry.

I think Colbert could be a tough challenger if he can run a campaign with a clear, positive message. Just making fun of Trump and running a "Trump is terrible so vote for me" campaign won't work, Colbert would have to show Americans that he is serious about being president and has real ideas. Trump did that with his campaign, making things like trade and immigration his big issues and I think people found that compelling.

But is Colbert capable of running with a clear, positive message? Transitioning from a heckler to a positive vision is harder than people might think. After all, when you actually argue a positive view, you'll get a batch of hecklers yourself. Trump managed to simply provoke the hecklers over and over again throughout while taking advantage of an existing political vacuum. Can Colbert do something like that? In what ways would Colbert represent views that are held but not expressed in our political and media establishment?

Colbert is personable enough and witty enough to deal with hecklers, but I do think you make a very good point about transitioning from a comedian who takes shots at others to someone with a positive message. That is really the big mystery with Colbert since I don't know many specifics about his ideology other than that he is a liberal of some sort.

I am banking on Colbert's speaking abilities and his charm to get his message across, which is why I think he could be a formidable challenger to Trump, especially if people are burnt out from contentious politics and want someone more personable and comforting. I don't know why I think Colbert could be that guy but from what I have read about him and from the few serious moments on his show (like when his mother passed away) I get the sense that Colbert can be a good "I feel your pain" candidate as well as someone who can go up against a tough bruiser like Trump and trade barbs if needed.