38 comments

1. DisablednDesperateAugust 1, 2016 at 9:25 am

   He fills me with loathing but I don’t actually think he has as much money as he says. A financial newspaper figured millions not billions. He refuses to release his tax returns. Wonder if he’s scared people will see how little he has.
   He spent very little in the primaries coz the media have him free advertising and is hitting up big donors now.
   He really frightens me. Watch You’ve Been Trumped on YouTube. I cried.

2. Michael TaylorAugust 1, 2016 at 9:32 am

   And what’s hurt Trump is that he’s been snubbed by the Koch brothers. They’re putting just under $880 million of their own money towards the Republicans, but as they despise Trump they’ll be putting that money into backing Republican governors only. Trump won’t see a cent of it. He’s also having a dummy spit that big business if funding Clinton. With all his alleged billions, Trump refuses to use any of his own money.

3. michael laceyAugust 1, 2016 at 9:33 am

   Con artists come in many varieties. On Wall Street, they can have Princeton University and Harvard Law School degrees, polished social skills and Italian designer suits that are priced in the tens of thousands of dollars. In Trump tower, they can have cheap comb-overs, fake tans, casinos and links with the Mafia. In the Clinton Foundation, they can wallow in hundreds of millions of dollars from corporate and foreign donors, including the most repressive governments in the world, exchanged for political favors. But they are all crooks.

   The character traits of the Clintons are as despicable as those that define Trump. The Clintons have amply illustrated that they are as misogynistic and as financially corrupt as Trump.
   http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/con_vs_con_20160619

4. TooleyAugust 1, 2016 at 9:37 am

   Hillary Clinton is a criminal who should be in jail, actually look into the witch, maybe check out Clinton Cash? Its proven many time over she is a CRIMINAL and what has Trump said a sexist comment some offensive rhetoric This article is just dribble, Trump has ran one of the most effective political campaign to date, he has spent way less and done way more and had the media playing to him all along. So many stood against him and he has taken them all down and there is only one criminal who stands in front of him. For Independent Media you are just towing the MSM argument with no actually research to back up your shit. Already Trump has stimulated conversation with his views on NATO, TPP, Immigration Reform, Islamic Terror. Your article is pathetic, try and do some research so you actually sound informed and not just another propagandist.

5. col gradolfAugust 1, 2016 at 9:45 am

   I heard a report on ABC RN last week, I think it may have been Correspondents Report, and the upshot was that the Trump campaign is not actually spending very much at all, in relative terms.

6. Michael TaylorAugust 1, 2016 at 9:47 am

   How could you say Trump had run a good campaign when he hasn’t been able to provide any policies other than babble on about big ideas? He can’t even string three sentences together.

7. Michael TaylorAugust 1, 2016 at 9:48 am

   And as for stimulating discussion, the best he’s done is to encourage chest beating from redneck followers.

8. Keitha GranvilleAugust 1, 2016 at 9:51 am

   I was going to leave a comment – after reading Tooley I realised that this is exactly why and how Trump has succeeded to this point. And probably will win. Whether it is his money or ad money or business money or who the hell cares money, it’s a complete and utter flagrant waste when half the country survives in abject poverty. Sadly they believe he will change this. He won’t, he can’t.He will find that out when he is in the Oval Office and he’ll get bored at his inability to do anything. It may be before he starts WW3 but no way of knowing.

9. PhilAugust 1, 2016 at 9:53 am

   If he gets the top job it would be fascinating to be the proverbial fly on the wall when he gets to deal with the chiefs of staff, the generals, the top advisors – he tells others what to do – he doesn’t listen – he brims with the confidence of the archetypal demagogue.

   China and Russia will benefit greatly from a Trump rather than a Clinton presidency especially if Trump follows through on his international trade and military adventures rhetoric.

   Clinton represents BAU whereas Trump represents WTF!

   I can’t find any redeeming features in either candidate, but as they say ‘the show must go on’ !

10. TooleyAugust 1, 2016 at 10:05 am

    He self-funded his run in the Republican Primary and it was a very efficient campaign against 16 candidates who had alot of 3rd party funding, just look at how much Jeb Bush spent. He has policy just check his website, as for his babble he has been speaking to massive crowds almost daily for over an hour with no teleprompter. He does have a habit of repeating himself and some of it is pretty boring but atleast its not some control scripted speech written by some speech writer. If you want to hear some policy just look up his foreign policy speech which is a more scripted speech where he has some interesting policy’s. Its naive to say that he has just fellow redneck following him. Anyone who is informed know how evil the Clintons are and Trump is the only thing standing in her way. He is flawed candidate and certainly not the ideal choice but his record is way better than the Clinton Crime Family who will sellout on everything for the right price.

11. paulwalterAugust 1, 2016 at 10:17 am

    It’s fascinating to think that the Republicans have not been able to produce a single credible politician this century. Rather you think of freebooters like Cheney and Bush and the con trick they pulled with Iraq, where by their personal and crony interests were advanced at the cost of hundreds of thousands of middle eastern lives and the US taxpayers dollars while the ultras sneaked $trillions away to offshore tax shelters.

    The last three elections have thrown up absolute caricatures of leaders, backed by crooks, not that Clinton is much better. But the Democrats run a smooth operation, partly because they are more rational people. Trump must not be blamed if the fantasy world of US right wing politics cannot throw up a leadership and policy tendency relevant to the real world although it is not yet time to write him off when the vote is still a way off.

    Trump’s antics appeal to red state America, but not the more sophisticated seaboard states. Whatever his business acumen, he does not present as someone who appreciates what running the US economy would really mean.

12. TooleyAugust 1, 2016 at 10:19 am

    Keitha you talk about wasting money but his campaign was one of the most efficient to date? You talk about World War 3? What has Obama and Hillary done over the last 8 years? They have destabilized the middle east, they help caused the nightmare in Syria, how do you think more of the same is going to help?

    BAU?? Obama has ran the deficit from 10 Trillion to 20 Trillion the world is a less safer place, honestly WTF

13. stephentardrewAugust 1, 2016 at 10:22 am

    The problem here is, as Australian progressives will not admit, that democracy is dead in the water. It matters not one wit whether you choose Clinton or Trump millions have died, are dying and will die due to the deeply entrenched irrationality, magic and mythology of US politics which is built upon judgement, blame and retribution not a just system of causal accountability and rational evaluation of the contributors to injustice, poverty and inequality. One trillion dollars to upgrade nukes. Over eight hundred military based based world wide. Clinton responsible for Libya and we are supposed to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea. The whole of US economic and foreign policy is corrupt and corrosive so no it is not GOP or Democrat it is a wholly dysfunctional system that can only lead to more death and destruction of its own people and huge numbers of foreigners. Few are willing to state clearly the US is a failure and a real and present danger to world stability and the environment.

    Chose you poison people because regardless millions are going to suffer so how the hell can we accept either candidate. The better of two evils is still evil. It may well be that Trump is a lame duck and will be controlled by the Justice Department, CIA, FBI, Pentagon, Congress and Senate etc. however Clinton is a war monger corporate insider who has support for her militaristic obsession with intervention. We need to clean up our own political system which is beginning to look like a clone of US despotism and innate cruelty and greed.

    No one can tell the future and Clinton’s approach to Russia is a recipe for disaster. Washington’s deep influence upon the EU and the debacle of a common currency is tearing Europe apart without even considering the refugees who are a direct consequence of US and Clinton’s intervention. Clinton refused to negotiate a settlement brokered with Russia and Syria and look at the consequences. Stop living in an imagined world of better than and start fighting against the war machine and magical, mythical irrationality that is tearing the planet apart.

    We are at both three minutes to midnight due to the global warming and nuclear proliferation. What the hell are nukes doing on a Turkish base now sealed off by Turkey? Stop the wishful thinking that the US has some God given right to rule and start fighting back and clean up Australia first. Time to be rid of US bases and become a non-aligned mediator as Malcolm Fraser suggested. A choice between two lots of poison is still a death wish. The choice is that stark.

14. TooleyAugust 1, 2016 at 10:25 am

    Democrats run a smooth operation? ” Wikileaks releases 20,000+ emails proving the DNC colluded against the Sanders campaign. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz resigns in disgrace and before the ink is even dry on her resignation letter, Hillary appoints her co-chair of her campaign. Then the juicy stuff: Obama is filing an “electronic terrorism” case against Wikileaks in order to protect the DNC instead of praising them for making the American people aware of massive fraud within our election process. Biden actually called them “hi tech terrorists.” The cherry on top? A potential DNC Whistleblower was found murdered outside his apartment with a gunshot wound in his back. All of his personal belongings were left intact. (Read that, it wasn’t a mugging). What’s the best part? Virtual silence on all of this from the mainstream media except of course blaming Trump and the Russians.”

15. paulwalterAugust 1, 2016 at 12:08 pm

    I think Michael Taylor’s comment re the Kochs snubbing Trump rather a bit good.

    stephentardrew gets it.

16. Michael TaylorAugust 1, 2016 at 12:43 pm

    I listen to a few podcasts each week from America and the sentiment is that Hillary Clinton is a despised woman and not fit to be POTUS. The reasons they list are endless. But they all conclude with: “But at least she’s not Trump. Anyone but Donald Trump”.

17. Michael TaylorAugust 1, 2016 at 12:53 pm

    Paul, on top of that, the Republican Conference was snubbed by both President Bush Snr and President Bush Jnr, John McCain and Mitt Romney. It was the first time that former Republican Presidents had ever snubbed the conference.

18. paulwalterAugust 1, 2016 at 1:07 pm

    I propose that Hillary Clinton is less an aesthetic blight than Trump. Its like going to the dentist, helps if you have an anaesthetic in your chops before the work. Trump is like having a tooth out without a substantial pain killer you get the pain both during and later but with Hillary the pain only comes later. I think, have no illusions about the Hillary, expect the worst, hope for the best and think of Trump as an overt example of a system busted.

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20. mars08August 1, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    Unfortunately Trump is NOT what’s wrong with American democracy. He is NOT the disease… he is a symptom. America is hopelessly divided, paranoid and insulated from the rest of the world. Even if Trump does not make it to the Oval Office… he has set a new low for what passes for political debate and responsible opinion is that country. Sooner or later someone with his twisted mentality will make it to the top.

21. diannaartAugust 1, 2016 at 4:38 pm

    Donald Trump at his most entertaining when doing his Jabba the Hutt impersonation. Expect more of this, Trump is as deep as his orang-utan skin.

    Have plenty of room under house to stash food for the next four years if Trump does get to be prez.

    I am not frightened, truly.

22. Annie BAugust 1, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    Agree with mars08, re Trump being a ‘symptom’ of what really ails that country. And it IS divided and insulated from the rest of the world. Horridly so. …. Authoritarianism also, is highly valued there.

    ………

    From a previous post by me :

    ” Anything ‘ new ‘ is downright scary to a majority of Americans – it rocks the boat, it destabilises the status quo – which relates back to their outmoded and oh so precious Constitution, their devotion to militarism, and the grand old Flag. “Stop (rocking) the boats”. They believe themselves to be exceptional, and the most powerful country on earth. That in itself is a give-away, to their collective mind-set – and it is this that Trump appeals to – whether by design and expert cunning, or because he is spouting maniacal inanities that resonate.

    He’s like a B grade soap opera. ‘ What will happen next ? – tune in and find out – isn’t it exciting ! ‘ Americans seem to love that kind of thing. Drawn like moths to a flame. And they will be burned, because of their lack of caution, their lack of embracing so much else that is in the world.

    Someone may well build another Berlin / Mexican wall there ( ?? ), but they have already mentally surrounded themselves with huge moats and battlements, from behind which – they dictate to the world. … And all the while, they send their military out – in aggression or allegedly peacefully – to place themselves in strategic positions the world over, in order to ultimately dominate, and have that authority over all – ( they believe ). ”

    ……….

    I have a sneaking suspicion that Trump will not make it to or through any Presidency – one way or another. …. It wouldn’t surprise me at all, if he pulls out at the last moment, or if he DOES succeed will resign …. due to some excuse / reason or other. A precedent has been set for that – Richard Nixon resigned ( before he got the boot ). … The Constitution allows for it. ( Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 ). …. I cannot imagine him allowing anyone to dictate to him ( CIA, FBI, Pentagon et al ). …. HE is the supreme dictator of all around him. …

    Just a sneaking suspicion, is all !!

23. wamAugust 1, 2016 at 5:51 pm

    buffoons appeal to voters just as the media tells them obama(and gillard before him) has done nothing for 8 years, trump bellows he is a doer, an achiever who wants to make the yanks boss of America again.
    That sounds good enough to vote for????
    For goodness sake clinton sits down to pee why vote democrat???

24. Michael TaylorAugust 1, 2016 at 5:53 pm

    My American friends know better than me, but they’ve been saying that Trump is a better alternative than Ted Cruz.

25. Michael TaylorAugust 1, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    Annie, there’s been some talk that the GOP has been trying to get Romney to run as an independent. I can’t confirm this, but if I’m wrong I’m sure someone will tell me.

26. wamAugust 1, 2016 at 6:10 pm

    In first past the post splitting votes is crazy.
    The desert nuker cruz (who is really scary) or romney whose god gives boys on their 12th birthday the wisdom to advise females, both make trump sound ideal. I will not be surprised if he wins because black to a woman would be unamerican????

27. mars08August 1, 2016 at 7:30 pm

    The American ruling class and infotainment industry can’t help themselves. They will keep floating the notion of American exceptionalism, they will maintain the paranoia of America as the perpetual victim, they will rely on deadly force to get results and they will continue to insulate the public from the rest of the world.

    These are just some of the basic ingredients for the toxic sludge that produced Trump and his mindless fans. And the system will continue to spew it out….

28. Michael TaylorAugust 1, 2016 at 7:41 pm

    Can’t say I disagree with you, mars08.

29. Alan BairdAugust 1, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    Hillary is a component of the disease which is US politics. Trump is a symptom.

30. Annie BAugust 1, 2016 at 8:18 pm

    Michael …

    Your American friends are ( most likely ) correct – from their own perspective. Cruz is ( it is said ) a raging evangelist, and therefore offends most other religious persons there – of which there are MANY sects, religious affiliations, cults, and established religions like Episcopal, RC, Baptist etc. The whole Bible belt and religious persuasions there, seem to be a huge mish-mash. … For reasons obscure to many outside of the U.S. it seems to be because of his outspoken-ness about religion and his beliefs, and that of his wife, who has also spoken in support of her husband. …. Saw a whole heap of crass garbage posted on FB and elsewhere, in regards to Cruz …. and it was repugnant.

    A link that underscores his “God first” platform ( in his opinion ) : http://religionnews.com/2016/01/31/cruz-religion-evangelical-religious-liberty/

    – – – – – Also, there is a lot to research about Mitt Romney running as an independent. But not much, so far, has come of it … and since the primaries have been done – maybe it now, cannot happen ???? Am in the dark on that one.

    ……….

31. Annie BAugust 1, 2016 at 8:30 pm

    mars08 ,,,,,,,,,, As Chicken Little once said : ” The sky is falling ”

    It must be !! …. I am agreeing with mars08 again. No offense intended mars, but we have disagreed on many occasions for years, and I am glad to be able to acknowledge now. 🙂

    So – – – I again agree with mars08 ( August 1, 2016 at 7:30 pm ) … well said.

    Unfortunately, the ‘system will continue to spew it out’ ( as you said ) …. unless they find themselves in such a massive mess, that maybe – just maybe, they will wake up and realise there is a life beyond their narrow minded ideals, and to educate, beyond their borders. …. This however, will take generations to achieve.

    Do they have that much time ? ….. at this stage of proceedings. ?

32. Annie BAugust 1, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    Personally, don’t like either of the presumptive candidates for Presidency.

    But would have to sit down and look at the experience first, and what / how the ‘pretenders’ have spoken, and what they have offered.

    Trump = Zero. He spouts a lot of rhetoric – mostly offensive ( his latest against a Muslim family grieving the loss their son in U.S. military campaign ) …. and gives absolutely nothing, in how he thinks to proceed with his ‘ we-will’ speeches …. actual policies and ‘how to ‘ has yet to be revealed.

    Hillary = 5% – – – with a sound background in politics. …. She, at least, would know just how far she could go, against the agency machines that run that country.

    Trump would not / could not … have a clue. … It is not in his nature to be anything but ‘King Dick’ … “taking advice” would not be in his vocabulary.

    And therein – lies a real danger. ( but we all know that ).

    Higher power help America – – – Higher power help the world !!

33. DuffaAugust 1, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    I don’t think it is about money this time. It is about Trump tapping into a vein of disaffection with the way things are. His statements which are offensive actually reinforce his appeal. For those who support him doing everything upside down is good it says I don’t follow the rules, you can’t push me around. It keeps his image from going stale. If he offends his supporters say good I don’t like that such and such either. He is interesting, not necessarily, interesting and doesn’t bend to virtually anything. He has a lot of the appeal of the popular and the bully and he makes his supporters feel special and confident like the winning team captain who is a real pig but he wins.
    He has taken the contest away from the political to the more sports/entertainment and while he appears to be a winner he will be and if starts to lose he will fall. It is mainly a confidence bubble

34. Annie BAugust 1, 2016 at 10:09 pm

    Duffa …..

    If there were a way to click on ” Like ” on the AIM, I would certainly do that, in response to your post.

    Some good points made … but the thing is, no-one knows who or what he is – – – yet…. Mystery is so often impossible to remove oneself from.

    Is he a grifter ? – a shifter ? – a seeker of further fame ? … or what ?

    Remains to be seen. An interesting 3.2 months coming up, eh ?

    Cheers ……..

35. quiltingforkidsAugust 2, 2016 at 12:42 am

    The Trump campaign successes do not seem to be all about money. Some estimate that he has received multiple billions in free TV coverage, because the networks cover everything he says. He is a narcissistic sociopath, which makes him a real danger to the world, but also probably makes him great TV, which seems to be what has happened. But also, never underestimate the capacity of 2016 America to latch onto idiots such as Trump. The Fox News viewers especially love him and hate Hillary. Hillary has her flaws, but criminal isn’t one of them. that is simply a Faux News-Trump campaign lie. He may well win, which is a pathetic commentary on Americans. He should lose 80-20, but he won’t. Canada looks more and more inviting, except, yeah there’s always an except, we are 81 and 82 respectively, so we ain’t going anywhere. We will have to try and hide to avoid the bullets from the Trump-lovers, all of whom seem to be gun-toting idiots who love killing things and people.

36. diannaartAugust 2, 2016 at 10:53 am

    @quiltingforkids

    Thank you for your comments here.

    Perhaps Clinton and Trump should be put to the “shiny red button ” test. Who would press it?

    Hillary, by dint of political experience knows what it is for and desist – after all total nuclear annihilation is not on her agenda (regardless what SOME people think about her).

    Trump, being Trump, would think “Ooooo shiny, red, what will happen if I press…..”

    I understand it is easy to dislike Hillary, but Trump? He is for the ‘end of days’ crowd.

37. Dr Bones SnrAugust 3, 2016 at 7:29 am

    For a long time I thought; this guy is going to finish up on the wrong end of your typical American solution, lead poisoning.

    Unfortunately it now seems that those most likely to provide said solution are grovelling at his feet.

    Oh well, you win some ………………………………….

38. Norm VanderfeenAugust 4, 2016 at 10:13 pm

    If you go to youtube and search Hillary you will find 1000 hour on how corrupted and bloodthirsty she is. She is responsible for the destruction of Libya and Syria. Even the pentagon were working with the Libyans to try and stop her. Search for the Doco ‘Clinton Cash’ to see how corrupted the the Clinton Foundation is.

    The Globalist Corporate Media is attacking Trump because he is a Nationalist not a Globalist. He wants to close the borders and stop illegal immigrants, force the Corporations to bring the jobs back from China and their money back from Tax Havens. He wants to make peace with the Russians and stop the wars in the Middle East and used the money to repair the US infrastructure.

    These are some of the reasons the Globalist are smearing Trump and calling him a dangerous man. Putin has said on many occasion that if Hillary is elected they expect War.

    When Hanson first got elected the Globalist Howard, who liked bombing Muslims then locking up the few refugees who got here, went hysterical calling Hanson the racist. What he was really scared about was that she was a Nationalist and might interfere with his plans to join the Global Board of GP Morgan