#1
Post rating: +


TRUMP OF MACEDON

For the last few months, people have kept their eyes on one figure in politics: Donald Trump. Love him or hate him, Trump has electrified the voting populace with his bold and frank persona. He represents independence from mainstream media and the political nobility, and like King Midas, everything he touches turns to gold. From previously taboo topics like immigration, to obscure issues like corporate inversion, Americans are now alive with dreams of how real change could occur in 2016.

The ancient world, too, was no stranger to being shaken up by massively successful outsiders. One of the most famous is the father of Alexander the Great, King Philip II of Macedon. The Kingdom of Macedon was on the edge of the Greek world, and Greeks like King Philip were seen as rank outsiders in cities like Athens and Sparta. In a single generation, however, King Philip turned Macedon into a stable and unified powerhouse. Soon enough, the Greek political class was obsessed with his every move; his actions had the power to build up or destroy even the greatest career politician.

In a lot of ways, King Philip and Trump are similar figures. Both are renowned negotiators; Trump has built a fortune through negotiations, and King Philip used diplomacy to divide his opponents and march his whole army right into the Greek heartland. They also understood the greed of the established political class; Trump has given to politicians and speaks publicly about how they sell their support, something King Philip experienced when he funded his own political allies throughout Greece. There are other points of similarity, but they are not all so positive: both men have also been the subject of death threats because of their politics; in King Philip’s case, he was ultimately murdered by a traitor shortly after unifying most of Greece.

Can Trump live up to the example set by King Philip? So far, Trump has enjoyed attention that few could dream of; it seems the voting populace is tired of noxious identity politics, dishonest media, and uninspiring political dynasties. Yet, can he go the extra mile and assume the highest office in America? King Philip was royalty, and as such he lived and died by politics; Trump is a businessman who has just now stepped into the lime-light of presidential politics.

Whatever the result, one thing is clear: there's a real chance that 2016 will be known as the Year of The Donald.




#2
Poronto
Post rating: +
every year is year of the Donald
#3
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one of the better tpaine alts
#4
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Does this mean that Trump will have a pro-miscegenation successor?
#5
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Wow, a downvote? You fool, do you even know what you've done?
#6
"Jpg." - Hank Hill
Post rating: +++++
#7
Dont Mess With Sucess
Post rating: +

Lykourgos posted:

Wow, a downvote? You fool, do you even know what you've done?

I don't think you worked very hard at writing it

#8
Post rating: ~
hes getting fucking ELECTED RIP AMERICA

or sanders wins but either way im never moving out of my parents treehouse

i mean i am physically going to be homeless in Los Angeles
forever

actually will move 2 klanada 4 poutine and 3 hot montrealiennes

but either way the election result is deserved

fuck communism

ecosexual panarchistic
fuckbois
4 d3ath
#9
Post rating: ~

swampman posted:

Lykourgos posted:

Wow, a downvote? You fool, do you even know what you've done?

I don't think you worked very hard at writing it



Damn, truth hurts... *drops smoke bomb and flees in shame*

Edited by Lykourgos ()

#10
"Jpg." - Hank Hill
Post rating: +
Speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Thursday, Donald Trump once again demonstrated how he is not your typical presidential candidate.

“You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money,” Trump told members of the Sheldon Adelson-funded hardline pro-Israel lobbying organization.

He went on to mock rival Jeb Bush for taking money from interest groups and then toeing their line. “That’s why you don’t want to give me money, OK, but that’s OK, you want to control your own politician. That’s fine, good,” he concluded.

And then, unlike the candidates who do want the coalition’s money, Trump broke with GOP orthodoxy, questioning Israel’s commitment to peace, calling for even treatment in Israeli-Palestinian deal-making, and refusing to call for Jerusalem to be Israel’s undivided capital — provoking a wave of boos from the audience.

Trump was asked about earlier comments he had made to an Associated Press reporter that he believes peace hinges on “whether or not Israel wants to make the deal — whether or not Israel’s willing to sacrifice certain things.”

Trump was quickly assailed after that comment by rival candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who argued that land rights and a peace deal were not the issue and that Trump shouldn’t “question Israel’s commitment to peace.”

Trump continued to take a considerably more even-handed approach to the issue than his rivals at the event on Thursday. “I said that you have to have a commitment to make . I don’t know that Israel has the commitment to make it. I don’t know that the other side has the commitment to make it,” he said.

“I’d like to go in with a clean slate, and just say, ‘Let’s go, everybody’s even, we love everybody and let’s see if we can do something.’”

The moderator tried to pin Trump down on the litmus-test issue of whether Jerusalem should be the undivided capital of Israel.

“You know what I want to do, I want to wait until I meet with Bi —” started Trump before he was interrupted by booing.

“Who’s the wise guy?” Trump asked. “Do me a favor, just relax, OK. You’ll like me very much, believe me, and you wonder why you get yourself in trouble.”

Trump continued to heckle his heckler: “You can’t go in with that attitude. If you’re going to make a deal, you could make a great deal, you can’t go in with the attitude we’re going to shove it down your — you gotta go in and get it and do it nicely so everyone is happy.”

In other words, to Trump, who prides himself on deal-making, it’s simply obvious that you can’t make a deal between two people if you start off by saying one of them always gets their way no matter what.
#11
Online
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Trump: Ban all Muslim travel to U.S.

(CNN) Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump called Monday for barring all Muslims from entering the United States.

Trump, who has previously called for surveillance against mosques and said he was open to establishing a database for all Muslims living in the U.S., made his latest controversial call in a news release. His message comes in the wake of a deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, by suspected ISIS sympathizers and the day after President Barack Obama asked the country not to "turn against one another" out of fear.

"Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine," Trump said in a statement. "Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life."

Trump's comments are likely to roil the Republican presidential race, forcing many of his opponents for the nomination to engage in a debate over whether there should be a religious test to enter America.
#12
Online
Post rating: ~
Trump on Obama's speech: 'Is that all there is?'
CNN - ‎4 hours ago‎
Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama's Oval Office address to the country Sunday did little to impress one of his loudest critics in the race to replace him.
#13
Online
Post rating: +
i liked that headline so here's smoe riffs

Trump on Fallout 4: 'Is that all there is?'
CNN - ‎4 hours ago‎
Washington (CNN) Bethesda's Fallout 4 did little to impress one of the loudest critics in the race to replace Obama.

Trump on sex: 'Is that all there is?'
CNN - ‎4 hours ago‎
Washington (CNN) Sex with a hot wife did little to impress one of the loudest critics in the race to replace Obama.

Trump on life: 'Is that all there is?'
CNN - ‎4 hours ago‎
Washington (CNN) Life on this earth did little to impress one of the loudest critics in the race to replace Obama.
#14
"Jpg." - Hank Hill
Post rating: +
i like how all the political bloggers with spreadsheets and autism are scrambling to find a reason why trump is going to collapse any day now you guys or why he's stayed so popular. apparently their models don't factor in "the essential hideousness and bloodthirst of white republican voters" because it's not difficult to understand at all
#15
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#16
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Trump works for the Clinton campaign
#17
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le_nelson_mandela_face posted:

i like how all the political bloggers with spreadsheets and autism are scrambling to find a reason why trump is going to collapse any day now you guys or why he's stayed so popular. apparently their models don't factor in "the essential hideousness and bloodthirst of white republican voters" because it's not difficult to understand at all

its interesting to see this stuff playout on my facebook feed with normies. seems like theres a lot of "you WONT beleive the crazy thing trump said THIS time" from liberal outrage machines but his popularity just goes up. im glad i dont really care to follow that stuff in detail anymore.

#18
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a part of me does want to scoff, but, as bad as America is, Things Can Always Get Worse
#19
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Wow the cool orange man called muslims fatty retardos, that's extremely bad and troubling and not win. What's win is when the president's answer for gun control is to put everyone on the no fly list on a no guns list. Glad I voted for that guy
#20
Post rating: ~
that's a weird thing to say
#21
"Jpg." - Hank Hill
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if i was running in the republican primary and wanted to win i would immediately go just a little crazier than trump whenever he said anything. the only major shake-ups in polling were when the other candidates went crazier. if trump said "let's ban all the muslims" i'd immediately go "let's outlaw islam" but instead the real candidates simper about how crazy he is and keep losing
#22
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i never voted in favor of a no fly list or no gun list
#23
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I'd offer to kick allahs ass personally with my size 13 cowboy boots and the vid of me saying it would be from my YouTube and later I'd actually kick allahs ass with my size 13 cowboy boots.
#24
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I'm a moderate, so I think we should allow SOME muslims to live, but we certainly shouldn't allow them to have secrets.
#25
Poronto
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lets redefine islam to whatever the hell tom follows
#26
chickeon
Post rating: +++++
giving the name Islam to the McRib would probably raise some eyebrows to say the least
#27
Marxsplainer
Post rating: +

littlegreenpills posted:

lets redefine islam to whatever the hell tom follows



not many violent extremists killing in the name of the ice cream truck

e: dammit

#28
mt.real
Post rating: ~

le_nelson_mandela_face posted:

if i was running in the republican primary and wanted to win i would immediately go just a little crazier than trump whenever he said anything. the only major shake-ups in polling were when the other candidates went crazier. if trump said "let's ban all the muslims" i'd immediately go "let's outlaw islam" but instead the real candidates simper about how crazy he is and keep losing


it's awesome that the effect this has is only to solidify in the eyes of True Americans that all of Trump's rivals are just Liberals in disguise. which is appropriate since they are. finally true blue wide eyed American fascism will prevail when Trump wins

I look forward to the triumph parades

#29
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i don't but you're right that no one is more right-wing than trump, who is insignificantly behind Clinton in the latest polls
#30
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Frenz posted:

Trump works for the Clinton campaign



https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bill-clinton-called-donald-trump-ahead-of-republicans-2016-launch/2015/08/05/e2b30bb8-3ae3-11e5-b3ac-8a79bc44e5e2_story.html

#31
App Developer/Libertarian/Dad
Post rating: +
I assume it was just heavy breathing on the phone
#32
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dank_xiaopeng posted:

littlegreenpills posted:

lets redefine islam to whatever the hell tom follows

not many violent extremists killing in the name of the ice cream truck



#33
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FSAD posted:

I assume it was just heavy breathing on the phone



From who?

#34
Dont Mess With Sucess
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trump is just testing out a bunch of fascist policies to see what the amerikkkan public is ready to swallow with the regime change
#35
"Jpg." - Hank Hill
Post rating: +++++
#36
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*Tump
#37
"Jpg." - Hank Hill
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today i heard one of my favorite arguments, which is that homeless people are secretly rolling in cash. i hear various figures for their annual income: 80,000, 100,000, 150k+. this is a real thing a lot of white people think. Why Is Trump Leading
#38
Mike Nelson here.
Post rating: +
lots of 'homeless' people in toronto earn more than $150K+ a year because they are police officers running sting operations against the "trying to survive" syndicate
#39
[account deactivated]
#40
Dont Mess With Sucess
Post rating: +
sitting on a midtown sidewalk soaked in urine and barefoot on a 40 degree day thinking to yourself "ahh, $20/hr, just to relax? i have really figured out this life"