Just came home from Trump's Tampa rally

[avb3]

Well, I just got a taste of "The Donald".

I found out last night that Trump would have a rally in Tampa, and I figured it would be interesting to go and see for myself, unfiltered, the attraction.

Some of it was as I expected, other was how contrived and ungenuine it was. There were warm up acts, rock and blues music, and then introductions by Sarah Palin (what a vapid individual she is) and Chris Christie, who I always had thought fairly well of. I could not understand his endorsement of Trump, until he dropped the hint, subtle, but it was there, that Trump would appoint him as the Attorney General for the US. Now it made sense to me; I could not see much else the two had in common. For the record, Christie used to be the AG for New Jersey, a fact he spent some time discussing. The third politico on stage was the current AG for Florida, who "always listened to her mom, and her mom was for Trump".

What surprised me most was the small crowd. It was held in the Tampa Convention center, so I took a bus as Franklin St. was shut down, and I know parking could be tough in the area. I expected many thousands; I doubt that there were more than 1,500 people there total. It seemed that some were there out of curiosity, like myself, but most were pretty strong Trump supporters, to no surprise. Security was pretty tight, with both uniformed police and what my guess was Secret Service agents in large numbers. All those CCW permits in Florida? You were not allowed in if you were carrying.

It was a very, very white crowd. A few blacks, and I didn't see one Hispanic except for convention center staff in the building. Tampa has a large, large Hispanic community, so all that bluster about how much support Hispanics were giving Trump certainly was not reflected in that crowd.

Trump was his normal self; bluster and no details of his platform. He discussed the wall between Mexico and the US, the Second Amendment, Free Trade and how he would kill all the deals, and how he would make the Armed Forces larger. Oh, and China. Not once did he say how he would do all these things, not once did he discuss international agreements and how he break them, and his answer to American companies that would move their manufacturing to Mexico (he gave Carrier as an example), was that he would phone the company's president, and tell him change your mind, or I will tax your imports with a 35% import tax.

Never mind that would be illegal, but what the hey, it's Trump and bluster.

Over all I came away feeling a bit dirty for going, confirming that I just can't understand why people can't see through his schtick. He is a disingenuous as they come, feeding fears and perceived fears of aging, white Americans who somehow feel their country is not what it was. Guess what? They are right. Taking it back to the 1950's won't make it great though. Things change, and the real winners understand that and help make the change, even with missteps, rather than just look back.

Trump looks back, or at least plays on the fears of those that do. Everything he said was playing on that.

He may likely win the Republican nomination. We might as well get used to the first First Husband in the White House in that case, because Hillary will clean his clock in the general election. I truly am surprised that more do not see through his facade. The Republican party had real candidates (still has some) in the race, but, even though they were the grown ups in the room, primary voters wanted raw meat, and Trump sensed that and was and is giving it to them. He even pointed out that when his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka suggested to him to "be more presidential", that, talking to the crowd, he said, "I'm not going to do that, because you guys wouldn't like that, would you?". It got one of the bigger cheers... his supporters love the raw meat.

Many of my neighbors here have been Republicans all their lives, and they are worried about a Trump candidacy destroying their party. Many of them are not sure if they would vote in a general election with Trump as the nominee, and some have even said rather than have their party destroyed, they would put up with 4 years of Hillary, and wait for the next time. The general consensus appears to be that Republicans will control the House and Senate, although some have expressed concern that a Trump nomination could cost some Republican seats in some parts of the country.

At any rate, thought some of you might be interested. Sorry for the pics, one never knew when signs would be waved.

[Bergerboy]

That sounds great! Im happy to hear one of us was down there to suport him! Good on ya AVB3, with any luck we can attract similar people to office.

[JimPS]

Thanks for the informative post.

It's pretty much what I expected a Trump rally to be like. Sarah the Vape sounds like she's getting a lot worse.

1500 seems like a pretty good crowd for a rally.

I've read some reports that Little Marco is lucky to draw 300 - and Florida is his home turf.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by JimPS

I've read some reports that Little Marco is lucky to draw 300 - and Florida is his home turf.

I'd read similar.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/14700...s-the-upcoming

[bessiedog]

Originally Posted by Bergerboy

That sounds great! Im happy to hear one of us was down there to suport him! Good on ya AVB3, with any luck we can attract similar people to office.

Or do you really like him?

If you like him, I'm curious as to why..?

[Bergerboy]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

Or do you really like him?

If you like him, I'm curious as to why..?

Couple of reasons.
Sheer entertainment is the first one, I mean come on he says some really ridiculous stuff. The second is that I want to see a businessman run a country. The people that we have to choose from are lacking the tools to produce.

[winged1]

Good on you for dropping in.

I really wonder what must be going through Rick Scotts mind when this crew comes through his state, raising the rhetoric, and leaving a trail of trash.

I've done some research on Chris Christie, and he did state that he was 'convinced' of an appointment, which is a bit different than having it forthcoming. I feel a bit sorry for him in a sad kind of way, because he desperately needs something, because going home to his constituency will likely lead to a hanging.

My initial disgust of trump has given way to looking closer at his proposals. Some of them make perfect sense. I think he needs to apprentice in politics though, before he's handed a major role.

[bessiedog]

Originally Posted by Bergerboy

Couple of reasons.
Sheer entertainment is the first one, I mean come on he says some really ridiculous stuff. The second is that I want to see a businessman run a country. The people that we have to choose from are lacking the tools to produce.

He's got the entertainer angle down... That's for sure.

Dosen't his business track record kindof suck..?

[Headdamage]

This video tells most of what you need to know about trump:

https://youtu.be/DnpO_RTSNmQ

If you want to learn more without the laughs try this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU5EIIp9dko

[Bergerboy]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

He's got the entertainer angle down... That's for sure.

Dosen't his business track record kindof suck..?

Forbes figures he is worth 4.5 billion. He got there somehow.

[skidderman]

I know Trump has some pretty rough edges. Problem is Hillary is so smooth it's scary. I would think she will do just as much damage as Trump but people won't feel it until the knife is all the way in. I would not know how to vote if I was down there.

[bessiedog]

Ya
I know that stuff

Politics is the art of perception

And I'm very interested in the perception of people here that support him.

Not judging ..... Just want to get perceptions.


This whole thing I find absolutely fascinating .

And don't take that in a condescending way either.

[bessiedog]

Originally Posted by Bergerboy

Forbes figures he is worth 4.5 billion. He got there somehow.

Fair enough my friend

I respect your opinion and thank you for sharing it

[Sundancefisher]

But does he like fishing? Was one the Bow one day when George senior floated past.

[JimPS]

If the polls are correct, Trump could pretty much have the nomination in the bag after tomorrow.

Then the "Establishment" calls for a brokered convention, they play all the dirty tricks in the book - and Cruz wins the nomination and the election.

Cruze picks Jeb as VP, there's a boating accident and they have Bush III as Prez - just as planned.

It will be entertaining and interesting.

.

[3blade]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

Ya
I know that stuff

Politics is the art of deception

And I'm very interested in the perception of people here that support him.

Not judging ..... Just want to get perceptions.


This whole thing I find absolutely fascinating .

And don't take that in a condescending way either.

Fixed it for you

It is indeed fascinating on both sides...like watching two trains headed towards each other at full speed, not a dang thing to do but hope no one you like is on either.

[JimPS]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

But does he like fishing? Was one the Bow one day when George senior floated past.

I'm surprised SS let you anywhere near the river that fateful day.

I would have mooned him - just to say I did it.

.

[Jpl]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

Fair enough my friend

I respect your opinion and thank you for sharing it

As far as I know he has a poor track record when it comes to business. Most of the wealth was created by daddy and a team he inherited from daddy, that includes Trump Tower itself which I believed he opposed building, I think he was in his late 30s or early 40s then. Anything he actually was hands on went under. I believe he states that he is worth 40.5 billion but the actual number was indeed near 4.3 billion as per Forbes.

As much as I can't handle the thought of him being president, what with the racism and all, I'd pay money to watch that show

[Scott N]

That would be an interesting experience.

[Deo101]

Lots of BS surrounding his worth. A lot say that if you take away all his debt He is right back where Daddy left him around 200 million.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Bergerboy

That sounds great! Im happy to hear one of us was down there to suport him! Good on ya AVB3, with any luck we can attract similar people to office.

Uh yeah... that's exactly what the OP posted. LOL

[hal53]

If nothing else, it is entertaining to see the Washington "establishment" running around like their hair is on fire and scheming with every trick in the book to cut him off at the knees, and everything they try confirms what the general population down there thinks of them to Trumps benefit

[Sneeze]

Lots of folks got something bad to say about the Trump.

They make me think of Peter Griffin plugging his ears and yelling "la-la-la I cant hear you"

While you might not like to hear it, there are a great deal of American's who agree with his messages.

Continue to marginalize them at your peril.

Is Trump saying stop all Muslim immigration that much crazier then Trulander promising 25 000 in 2 months?

Is Trump's track record of making fun of fat women that much stranger then Notley's policy on allowing boys that identify today as girls to change with our daughters at school?

Is Trump's anti-Nafta stance that much stranger then Bernie's 60 or so % Federal tax on weathly Americans?

How about Trump wanting concealed carry in all 50 states? That's soo much crazier then Hillary sipping champagne with her friends refusing to act while Americans were battling for their life in Benghazi?


Trump doesn't jive with the pinko progressive world view. I don't like him because he is to far to the left. He is going to be a lot better for America then Hillary or Sanders however.

Speaking of lefty - here is a great quote from one of the most famous lefties.

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable"

[golferac]

The primaries have been very interesting/disturbing but the general election could be absolutely explosive if it is trump/sanders. What really peaks my interest even more is the possibility of a brokered convention if Trump doesnt take the "winner takes all delegates" states in the next months or so.

[JimPS]

Originally Posted by Sneeze

Speaking of lefty - here is a great quote from one of the most famous lefties.

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable"

JFK - And they killed him - too.

.

[Okotokian]

AVB, did you see any sign of counter-protesters, people trying to disrupt the rally?

[bessiedog]

But for the wrong reasons.

I think his tapping into the 'used to have a good blue collar job... Now I got a crappy marginalizing part time job' due to outsourcing. Disenfranchised citizenry.

With nothing from the establishment but a 'go back to school and get smarter-retrain for the service and knowledge based economy' lecture. Is his biggest wellspring of votes.

The other disenfranchised votes don't hurt him, but I don't think they amount to much more than background noise.


These groups have been devalued and marginalized long enough.

[raab]

Originally Posted by skidderman

I know Trump has some pretty rough edges. Problem is Hillary is so smooth it's scary. I would think she will do just as much damage as Trump but people won't feel it until the knife is all the way in. I would not know how to vote if I was down there.

Pretty easy, vote for the guy who was born to a middle/lower class family, who stood against segregation and was arrested for it, who was at the march on Washington, who wore flannel and work boots AFTER being elected as mayor to Vermonts biggest city, who has preached the same message for 30+ years.

[hal53]

Originally Posted by raab

Pretty easy, vote for the guy who was born to a middle/lower class family, who stood against segregation and was arrested for it, who was at the march on Washington, who wore flannel and work boots AFTER being elected as mayor to Vermonts biggest city, who has preached the same message for 30+ years.

...and has pie in the sky socialist ideas that no one can afford....sound familiar?

[raab]

Originally Posted by hal53

...and has pie in the sky socialist ideas that no one can afford....sound familiar?

Really like universal healthcare that every other industrialized nation pretty much has? The US spends 680 Billion on their military per year but can't afford to give people accessible healthcare. They're the joke of 1st world nations.