Serious question: why trust...

[Whateverman]

... anything Trump says/writes?

What's the justification for doing so?

[seer]

... anything Trump says/writes?

What's the justification for doing so?

Serious question, why trust anything Biden or Harris says or writes? As far as Trump - because he has largely kept his promises.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/w...in-three-years

https://www.frcaction.org/accomplishments

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings...-years-office/

[One Bad Pig]

I don't especially trust what Trump says. On the flip side, Joe Biden is having issues remembering what he says. Thus, what they say is not going to be a determining factor for me.

What Trump has done, on the other hand, easily trumps what Biden has done; similarly, what Pence has done easily trumps what Harris has done. Thus, although I don't particularly like Trump, and I frequently wish he would just shut up and get out of his own way, I find myself in much less of a dilemma regarding how my vote will be cast now than was the case 4 years ago.

[Reepicheep]

Serious question, why trust anything Biden or Harris says or writes? As far as Trump - because he has largely kept his promises.

I assume, then, that you believe that Trump fulfilled his promise to "lock Hillary up"? And that he kept his promise to build a wall between Mexico and the United States, and have Mexico pay for it? And that he is on track to pay off the US federal debt over eight years? And that Trump repealed Obamacare? And that he has spent $500 billion on infrastructure projects? And that the US economy has grown by 4% per year since Trump took office? And that Trump has renegotiated the Iran agreement? And that Trump has increased the size of the Marine Corps to 36 battalions? And that Trump has shrunk the size of the federal budget by 1% each year? And that Trump has cancelled all federal funding for sanctuary cities? And that he has removed all undocumented immigrants from the US? And that Trump stopped the AT&T Time Warner merger? And that Trump removed China from the WTO? And that Trump ended birthright citizenship? And that Trump sued all the women who accused him of sexual assault? And so on...

[Mountain Man]

... anything Trump says/writes?

What's the justification for doing so?

I don't believe this is a serious question.

On a related note, an idiot reporter from the Huffington Puffington Post recently asked Trump if he regrets all the (supposed) lies he has told throughout his presidency. Trump had the perfect answer: he simply moved on to the next reporter without even dignifying the question with a response.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bronso...trump-n2574340

[seer]

I assume, then, that you believe that Trump fulfilled his promise to "lock Hillary up"? And that he kept his promise to build a wall between Mexico and the United States, and have Mexico pay for it? And that he is on track to pay off the US federal debt over eight years? And that Trump repealed Obamacare? And that he has spent $500 billion on infrastructure projects? And that the US economy has grown by 4% per year since Trump took office? And that Trump has renegotiated the Iran agreement? And that Trump has increased the size of the Marine Corps to 36 battalions? And that Trump has shrunk the size of the federal budget by 1% each year? And that Trump has cancelled all federal funding for sanctuary cities? And that he has removed all undocumented immigrants from the US? And that Trump stopped the AT&T Time Warner merger? And that Trump removed China from the WTO? And that Trump ended birthright citizenship? And that Trump sued all the women who accused him of sexual assault? And so on...

Hey no President has absolute power but he has largely kept his promises - just read the links I left.

[Reepicheep]

Hey no President has absolute power but he has largely kept his promises - just read the links I left.

What do you think were the most oft repeated promises Trump made at his rallies during the 2016 election campaign? I'd say:

(1) hire a special prosecutor to gather evidence against Hillary to "lock her up"

(2) build a wall between Mexico and the USA, and have Mexico pay for it

(3) repeal Obamacare

Did Trump keep any of these promises? No, he did not.

After the above "big 3" promises, it is difficult to say what promises Trump repeated the most. I'd probably go with:

(4) deport all illegal immigrants

(5) drop out of NATO

(6) declare China to be a currency manipulator

(7) invest half a trillion or so in infrastructure

(8) renegotiate the NAFTA trade agreement

(9) drop out of the TPP trade agreement

Of these, Trump only kept the last two promises.

In regards to the TPP agreement, the remaining signatory countries signed and put into effect a similar trade agreement called the CPTPP. Membership in the CPTPP has given Canada, Australia, and New Zealand a significant advantage over the US in trade with, most notably, Japan. Dropping out of the agreement was clearly a mistake, and Trump periodically mentions the possibility of joining the CPTPP.

Trump managed to replace NAFTA with USMCA. From Canada's point of view, the two deals are essentially identical, other than giving the US access to an additional 0.3% or so of the Canadian dairy market. The most notable result of Trump's trade war is that he managed to offend all Canadian and Mexican citizens, which has resulted in a significant increase in the US trade deficits with both Mexico and Canada, and has caused long term damage to US relations with both trading partners.

In 2016 (Obama year 8), the US had a goods trade deficit of $63 billion with Mexico. In 2019, the deficit had increased to $101 billion. Likewise, the US goods trade deficit with Canada more than doubled between 2016 ($11 billion) and 2019 ($27 billion).

Even when Trump manages to keep his promises, there are often serious consequences which a competent person would have foreseen.

[Ronson]

... anything Trump says/writes?

What's the justification for doing so?

They all lie. I don't trust what anyone in office says or promises. But I do care about policy.

[Cow Poke]

... anything Trump says/writes?

What's the justification for doing so?

Ignore what he says. Pay attention to what he does.

[Starlight]

Ignore what he says. Pay attention to what he does.

Trump has made America a laughingstock on the world stage. It's allies no longer respect it and its enemies no longer fear it. At home, its citizens continue to die in record numbers.


Tracking if Trump has kept his campaign promises:

promises.JPG

The Wall's not built. Mexico's not paying for it. Obamacare hasn't been repealed and replaced. They haven't Locked Her Up. Even the gimme that any Republican could have done, such as naming someone conservative to SCOTUS, has failed, with a Trump appointee writing the pro-gay-rights decision.

[NorrinRadd]

He's done better than I'd expected on the things that matter to me, and done so against vicious headwinds.

I reluctantly voted for him at the last possible moment in '16. This time I'm eager.

I don't much care about what he says, except that it delights me when he says things that drive libs and Never-Trumper RINOs insane.

[Starlight]

I don't much care about what he says, except that it delights me when he says things that drive libs and Never-Trumper RINOs insane.

This never leads you to any realizations along the lines of "OMG I'm getting joy out of the suffering of others! What is wrong with me? I've become an utterly depraved, total moral failure of a person! I need to rethink all my life decisions that have led me to be this awful!"?

[Reepicheep]

This never leads you to any realizations along the lines of "OMG I'm getting joy out of the suffering of others! What is wrong with me? I've become an utterly depraved, total moral failure of a person! I need to rethink all my life decisions that have led me to be this awful!"?

You raise an excellent point. More specifically, I don't see how taking pleasure in the suffering of others can possibly be compatible with being a Christian.

[NorrinRadd]

This never leads you to any realizations along the lines of "OMG I'm getting joy out of the suffering of others! What is wrong with me? I've become an utterly depraved, total moral failure of a person! I need to rethink all my life decisions that have led me to be this awful!"?

Not in the least.

[NorrinRadd]

You raise an excellent point. More specifically, I don't see how taking pleasure in the suffering of others can possibly be compatible with being a Christian.

If you mean the emotional suffering of fools, oh well.

I am content that I am following the example of my Father, as in Psa. 2:4.