Top 10 things Trump could do to improve his polling numbers - add your ideas to this thread

[as seen on tv]

On Fox & Friends this morning, it was revealed that “two lucky winners” will get an expense paid trip to dine with Trump at Mar A Largo. No contribution to this fund raising supper needed to enter, but I suppose it wouldn’t help. After all, various governments contributed to the Clinton foundation even though the disclaimer made it clear that they could win a foreign policy or arms sale lottery without contributing to the secretary of state’s “charity”. And over $200 million was donated.

As a method of (briefly) changing the conversation, there’s no problem with inviting Joe Sixpack or Maria Sanchez (“plus 1”) to a 7 course lobster meal in Florida. Even if Joe or Maria unloads about what they wish Trump would do differently, he’s going to at least look like a good sport. And Joe and Maria, based on the laws of probability, are probably going to have better ideas than Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, or Oprah Winfrey, no?

I’m not entering Trump’s contest, even though I’d love to take my daughter Dani to Florida and escape some of this freezing weather caused by global warming. She hasn’t been since she was 8 years old, when we visited disneyworld.

In lieu of visiting Trumps contest website, I’ve decided to list below the top 10 things I would have recommended to Trump, to improve his polling numbers and score some quick wins. As always, you are invited to submit your own ideas in this thread as well:


10 – Stop drawing attention to DACA. Give a speech on how you’ve instructed Jeff Sessions and the DOJ to work “night and day” to arrest and deport illegal aliens who wanted on charges, soldiers in the MS13 gang, child traffickers, drug traffickers, etc. “Night and Day”


9 – Invite Putin the White House. While he’s here, hold a press conference and announce that you’ve asked him to end the fighting in Ukraine, and return Crimea to its rightful residents. Putin of course will be flabbergasted, and refuse. But Trump will score points for being tough on Russia.


8 – Seize an Iranian or North Korean ship the next time a missile is launched. Interrogate the crew, and then repatriate them to their nations. Repeat the following month, if it happens again.


7 – Ban offshore drilling as “inherently dangerous for our food supply and coastal areas”. Instead, put renewed efforts into Alaska, shale oil, etc. originating places we don’t typically visit on vacation.


6 – Offer to provide “assistance as requested” if Japan and South Korea feel the need to develop their own Nukes to deter north korea. Since there is legitimate question as to our own reliability in this theater in the event of conflict. Since China will do just about anything to prevent a nuclear armed Japan or South Korea, China may even disarm north korea to set things right.

5 – A unilateral voucher system for parents who live in failing school districts to send their kids to private schools. Fund it be reducing federal grants to state education agencies.


4 – Change the IRS rules to allow “unlimited tax deductions” for donations to local food banks (both corporate donations and individual taxpayer). Save you receipts in case you’re audited


3 – Sentence first time drug use offenders to addiction intervention. Pay for the program with seizures of drug dealer/kingpin/cartel assets.


2 – Auction off every government building which has been vacant for 12 months or longer. Use the money to defray the national debt.


1 – Close gitmo. It’s redundant militarily, and a risk. And also close our embassy/consulate in Havana. Conduct a COMPETENT investigation into how so many of our diplomats were impaired by some sort of device/chemical/poison after relations were normalized. Seize cuban assets to pay for the medical expenses/pain and suffering of those attacked.

 

[Deleted member 21794]

Nice list. I would add quit playing the saber-rattling game with fat boy. Proceed with your plan of seizing ships. Make a big deal about announcing every seizure.

Find more countries like Pakistan where our aid is a complete waste. Withdraw aid and tell the American people why.

 

[Arkady]

On Fox & Friends this morning, it was revealed that “two lucky winners” will get an expense paid trip to dine with Trump at Mar A Largo. No contribution to this fund raising supper needed to enter, but I suppose it wouldn’t help. After all, various governments contributed to the Clinton foundation even though the disclaimer made it clear that they could win a foreign policy or arms sale lottery without contributing to the secretary of state’s “charity”. And over $200 million was donated.

As a method of (briefly) changing the conversation, there’s no problem with inviting Joe Sixpack or Maria Sanchez (“plus 1”) to a 7 course lobster meal in Florida. Even if Joe or Maria unloads about what they wish Trump would do differently, he’s going to at least look like a good sport. And Joe and Maria, based on the laws of probability, are probably going to have better ideas than Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, or Oprah Winfrey, no?

I’m not entering Trump’s contest, even though I’d love to take my daughter Dani to Florida and escape some of this freezing weather caused by global warming. She hasn’t been since she was 8 years old, when we visited disneyworld.

In lieu of visiting Trumps contest website, I’ve decided to list below the top 10 things I would have recommended to Trump, to improve his polling numbers and score some quick wins. As always, you are invited to submit your own ideas in this thread as well:


10 – Stop drawing attention to DACA. Give a speech on how you’ve instructed Jeff Sessions and the DOJ to work “night and day” to arrest and deport illegal aliens who wanted on charges, soldiers in the MS13 gang, child traffickers, drug traffickers, etc. “Night and Day”


9 – Invite Putin the White House. While he’s here, hold a press conference and announce that you’ve asked him to end the fighting in Ukraine, and return Crimea to its rightful residents. Putin of course will be flabbergasted, and refuse. But Trump will score points for being tough on Russia.


8 – Seize an Iranian or North Korean ship the next time a missile is launched. Interrogate the crew, and then repatriate them to their nations. Repeat the following month, if it happens again.


7 – Ban offshore drilling as “inherently dangerous for our food supply and coastal areas”. Instead, put renewed efforts into Alaska, shale oil, etc. originating places we don’t typically visit on vacation.


6 – Offer to provide “assistance as requested” if Japan and South Korea feel the need to develop their own Nukes to deter north korea. Since there is legitimate question as to our own reliability in this theater in the event of conflict. Since China will do just about anything to prevent a nuclear armed Japan or South Korea, China may even disarm north korea to set things right.

5 – A unilateral voucher system for parents who live in failing school districts to send their kids to private schools. Fund it be reducing federal grants to state education agencies.


4 – Change the IRS rules to allow “unlimited tax deductions” for donations to local food banks (both corporate donations and individual taxpayer). Save you receipts in case you’re audited


3 – Sentence first time drug use offenders to addiction intervention. Pay for the program with seizures of drug dealer/kingpin/cartel assets.


2 – Auction off every government building which has been vacant for 12 months or longer. Use the money to defray the national debt.


1 – Close gitmo. It’s redundant militarily, and a risk. And also close our embassy/consulate in Havana. Conduct a COMPETENT investigation into how so many of our diplomats were impaired by some sort of device/chemical/poison after relations were normalized. Seize cuban assets to pay for the medical expenses/pain and suffering of those attacked.

He could allow a large terrorist attack on the US, on the magnitude of OK City or 9/11. When Americans feel threatened, they tend to line up behind the nearest authority figure. That's why GW Bush used to play games with a color-coded terror alert, coordinated to hit during politically important moments. It's also why, despite winding up as one of the least liked presidents in history, he had the highest poll numbers ever, for a few weeks right after the September 11 attacks. If Trump could get lucky enough to preside over a similar massive national security failure, his poll numbers would surge.

 

[as seen on tv]

Nice list. I would add quit playing the saber-rattling game with fat boy. Proceed with your plan of seizing ships. Make a big deal about announcing every seizure.

Find more countries like Pakistan where our aid is a complete waste. Withdraw aid and tell the American people why.

agree on the sabre rattling. and the sanctions game. seize a ship to inspect for contraband. inbound or outbound. we still have the greatest navy on earth

 

[as seen on tv]

He could allow a large terrorist attack on the US, on the magnitude of OK City or 9/11. When Americans feel threatened, they tend to line up behind the nearest authority figure. That's why GW Bush used to play games with a color-coded terror alert, coordinated to hit during politically important moments. It's also why, despite winding up as one of the least liked presidents in history, he had the highest poll numbers ever, for a few weeks right after the September 11 attacks. If Trump could get lucky enough to preside over a similar massive national security failure, his poll numbers would surge.

that was Obama's plan. on his watch we had

• pulse nightclub
• fort hood
• san bernardino
• etc
• 
  

 

[Arkady]

that was Obama's plan. on his watch we had

• pulse nightclub
• fort hood
• san bernardino
• etc

I don't think those kinds of relatively small attacks tend to do much to a president's numbers, one way or the other. For example, Fort Hood was November 5, 2009. At the time Gallup had Obama at 52%, and the next week they had him at 53%. Even if that were a one-point boost and not just noise, obviously a one-point boost would be negligible in the context of Trump's very low ratings. I think to get him into positive territory, you'd need something on the magnitude of OK City or even 9/11.

 

[as seen on tv]

I don't think those kinds of relatively small attacks tend to do much to a president's numbers, one way or the other. For example, Fort Hood was November 5, 2009. At the time Gallup had Obama at 52%, and the next week they had him at 53%. Even if that were a one-point boost and not just noise, obviously a one-point boost would be negligible in the context of Trump's very low ratings. I think to get him into positive territory, you'd need something on the magnitude of OK City or even 9/11.

I agree that all my examples fall short of the impact of 9/11. and I omitted the more horrific boston marathon attack.

the bottom line however - any attack will tend to "energize" trumps base, which is skeptical of unrestricted immigration, gun control on law abiding citizens, and Islam's atrocious reputation world wide (slavery, gay executions, adultery execustitons, suppression of women's rights, forced marriages etc.)

Recently some US based IMAM called for attacks on Jews. This an oppotutnity missed by the current administration - to take immediate legal action.

American's don't care about dreamers. Their concerns are terrorism, drug cartels, child traffickers, violent gangs like MS13. Any law and order president worthy of the label should have this message in heavy rotation, continuously, to open up white space between himself and the democrats.

 

[Arkady]

I agree that all my examples fall short of the impact of 9/11. and I omitted the more horrific boston marathon attack.

The marathon bombing is another example of a very small attack. The death toll --3-- is about what you'd expect in a car accident, not a major attack on the country. Obama's approval looked like it went up a single point after that attack, which is consistent with the elevation just being noise.

any attack will tend to "energize" trumps base

Yes, agreed, but I think that energy will tend to dissipate pretty quickly for the kind of small attack that gets crowded out of the news cycle after a day or two, as opposed to dictating the national dialogue for months or years, like 9/11. I think it'll take something big to single-handedly move him into positive territory -- hundreds killed, at least.

American's don't care about dreamers.

What makes you think that? I'm an American and I do. Millions of other Americans who have dreamers as siblings, significant others, etc. Clearly they care, too. It looks like, overall, 58% of Americans want them granted citizenship:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/poll-dreamers-parents-stay-u-s-americans-say

to open up white space between himself and the democrats.

Funny wording there. I think that space is, indeed, almost entirely white.

 

[Dawg]

I don't think those kinds of relatively small attacks tend to do much to a president's numbers, one way or the other. For example, Fort Hood was November 5, 2009. At the time Gallup had Obama at 52%, and the next week they had him at 53%. Even if that were a one-point boost and not just noise, obviously a one-point boost would be negligible in the context of Trump's very low ratings. I think to get him into positive territory, you'd need something on the magnitude of OK City or even 9/11.

and the Muslim POTUS called the Muslim's murder spree "work place violence"
but white cops "act stupidly"

You would defend O if he were one of the 12 9/11 attackers, IMO

 

[Dawg]

The marathon bombing is another example of a very small attack.

If you'd have lost life or limb would you call it a "small attack"?

 

[Deleted member 21794]

What makes you think that? I'm an American and I do. Millions of other Americans who have dreamers as siblings, significant others, etc. Clearly they care, too. It looks like, overall, 58% of Americans want them granted citizenship:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/poll-dreamers-parents-stay-u-s-americans-say

Support for an issue isn't a measure of how much they care. Now if you had a poll that showed legalizing dreamers had high priority to Americans, that would make your case. I could take a poll and show that a large majority of Americans think the DMV is very inefficient. However, that same poll wouldn't register more than a blip as far as priorities.

I hope that helps you see your mistake in thinking your poll supports your assertion.

 

[as seen on tv]

and the Muslim POTUS called the Muslim's murder spree "work place violence"
but white cops "act stupidly"

You would defend O if he were one of the 12 9/11 attackers, IMO

characterizing the fort hood attack as "workplace violence" was certainly a low point for the Obama administration. especially since the shooter had been monitored visiting jihadist sites, but his commanding officers felt powerless to take action, based Obama's guidance to the pentagon.

 

[as seen on tv]

Support for an issue isn't a measure of how much they care. Now if you had a poll that showed legalizing dreamers had high priority to Americans, that would make your case. I could take a poll and show that a large majority of Americans think the DMV is very inefficient. However, that same poll wouldn't register more than a blip as far as priorities.

I hope that helps you see your mistake in thinking your poll supports your assertion.

support for dreamers is highest among a very narrow sliver of left of center politicians. the average American doesn't know one.

the closest you'd get to citizen support might be the NEA, which views any potential reduction in public school students as a threat to their ever increasing paychecks.

 

[Arkady]

and the Muslim POTUS

To be clear, the POTUS in question was Obama, a Christian

 

[Arkady]

If you'd have lost life or limb would you call it a "small attack"?

If I'd lost my life, I wouldn't call anything anything, obviously. If I lost a limb in an attack, it wouldn't be a small attack to me, personally, regardless of how big it was in the big picture. If some nutter rammed me with his car in a road-rage incident, and I lost my leg, that would be a cataclysmic event on my personal level. But in the big picture, it would be a small attack.

 

[Arkady]

Support for an issue isn't a measure of how much they care.

You lost track of the thread. The claim wasn't that Americans don't rank dreamers among their top priorities. It was that they don't care about dreamers. At least 58% of them care enough about them to support giving them citizenship.

Do you see your error?

 

[Arkady]

characterizing the fort hood attack as "workplace violence" was certainly a low point for the Obama administration.

Why? Are you disputing that it happened in a workplace, or that it was violent? Or is it just that you thought it should have been off-limits to mention that it was workplace violence? "Workplace violence" was a good description, early on, when the motivation was unclear, since calling something "terrorism" requires drawing a conclusion about what the motivation was. Obama later called the attack "terrorism,' but for some reason deranged conservatives were upset about his initial restraint. I, on the other hand, applaud that. Calling something terrorism is an assertion about its motive, and there's no need to rush to draw such conclusions when the information is still coming in.

If it helps, think of it in an altered political scenario -- a military member goes to work with a gun and shoots a bunch of his coworkers. At first Trump avoids calling it terrorism, despite initial reports that the shooter was a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is known to have an extremist anger at the military for being accepting of gays. Later, solid evidence has emerged that the shooter acted in order to terrorize the military for its gay-tolerant policies, and Trump calls it "terrorism." Would you be angry with Trump for his delay?

 

[marvin martian]

He could allow a large terrorist attack on the US, on the magnitude of OK City or 9/11. When Americans feel threatened, they tend to line up behind the nearest authority figure. That's why GW Bush used to play games with a color-coded terror alert, coordinated to hit during politically important moments. It's also why, despite winding up as one of the least liked presidents in history, he had the highest poll numbers ever, for a few weeks right after the September 11 attacks. If Trump could get lucky enough to preside over a similar massive national security failure, his poll numbers would surge.

I didn't know you were a 9/11 "truther".

 

[Deleted member 21794]

You lost track of the thread. The claim wasn't that Americans don't rank dreamers among their top priorities. It was that they don't care about dreamers. At least 58% of them care enough about them to support giving them citizenship.

Do you see your error?

Nice effort, but still a loss. I care enough to say Americans should eat more carrots. The real question is, how big of a priority is it? Caring enough to respond to a poll is a laughable way to gauge how much someone cares about something. Hopefully you can now spot YOUR error.

 

[Deleted member 21794]

Why? Are you disputing that it happened in a workplace, or that it was violent? Or is it just that you thought it should have been off-limits to mention that it was workplace violence? "Workplace violence" was a good description, early on, when the motivation was unclear, since calling something "terrorism" requires drawing a conclusion about what the motivation was. Obama later called the attack "terrorism,' but for some reason deranged conservatives were upset about his initial restraint. I, on the other hand, applaud that. Calling something terrorism is an assertion about its motive, and there's no need to rush to draw such conclusions when the information is still coming in.

If it helps, think of it in an altered political scenario -- a military member goes to work with a gun and shoots a bunch of his coworkers. At first Trump avoids calling it terrorism, despite initial reports that the shooter was a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is known to have an extremist anger at the military for being accepting of gays. Later, solid evidence has emerged that the shooter acted in order to terrorize the military for its gay-tolerant policies, and Trump calls it "terrorism." Would you be angry with Trump for his delay?

Someone needs to look up the definition of terrorism.