Trump rejects second Harris debate
Trump rejects second Harris debate
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said there will not be another debate against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Smart. I'm voting for the guy but he's doing worse and worse in each debate.
Honest question, not bait: why?
Mostly the economy, foreign affairs, and national security.
Let's start with foreign affairs, because from my perspective he isn't too good at getting along with other world leaders (or anyone) unless they praise him. How do you suppose foreign affairs would improve?
I think we'd see an ease in tensions in certain parts of the world, especially in Israel and Palestine. Trump can't end the Israel-Hamas War, but he'd probably push to limit funding to Iran like he did before, limiting their ability to fund Hamas' and Hezbollah's activities. He'd also probably pressure countries to stop sending as many migrants into America.
Well, I think you're definitely correct that he'd crack down on immigration via as many means as are available to him, that seems to be a major talking point for him and was a theme for his first term. His platform pledges "peace in Europe and in the Middle East" but doesn't go into any detail, so I won't speculate on that. I won't argue against your positions, because that's not the point. Thanks for actually outlining some policy positions you agree with him on, it's a better answer than I usually get.
I don't think it's a secret that he's a bit of a loose cannon, though, and I think it's pretty apparent from the debate that he's prone to personal attacks and easily baited into pointless arguments about things that don't matter for the country (though they matter to his ego, evidently). I am of the opinion that, policy aside, his first four years were marked by this tendency to double down against any perceived personal slight, to the detriment of his duties as president. He does not appear to be more in control of his outbursts now. Is that concerning for you?
With transparency, I'm a trans person, and Trump/MAGA have made it clear that they intend to demonize me and people like me. I'm aware of the argument that Trump only wishes to restrict trans healthcare for minors, though he's said that he would work to prevent any agency from promoting "the concept of sex and gender transition at any age." Regardless of whether this policy factually seeks to erase all transgender people, the rhetoric surrounding this issue has created, and continues to create, an environment that is harmful for me and people like me. For that reason if for no other, I cannot vote for him. I consider it self-defense. I hope that you can appreciate that position.
I definitely get that position and understand why trans people would vote against Trump, especially since a lot of people in Trump's cabinet and inner circle support or have worked on Project 2025. I have a trans friend myself who will be voting for Kamala.
I agree with you on Trump's rhetoric as well, I'm almost 100% an issues and policy voter though and try to ignore the rhetoric. If rhetoric factored into my decision I probably wouldn't be voting for him, I pretty much loathe how Trump has carried himself on Truth Social for most of the campaign. I don't think that that'll affect how he runs the country though, as he was saying similarly vindictive things when running in 2016 like talking about putting Hillary Clinton in jail or opening up the libel laws to go after MSM outlets that lied about him and none of that ever happened.
I agree that his bark is worse than his bite; whether that's because reality doesn't agree with his rhetoric, or because the power to unilaterally imprison an opponent is outside the scope of presidential powers, or because he was only bloviating and never meant any of it.
I have always said that my main concern isn't Trump himself. I don't think he's evil incarnate or a would-be dictator, largely because I personally don't think he's smart enough to be a supervillain. My main concern is that rhetoric like that whips up reactionary anger; it certainly motivates voters, which is almost certainly why he continues to do it (an angry mob is a force), but it's also worsened an already deep political divide and created a situation where conservatives and liberals (I'm neither, for the record, I'm pretty far to the left of both) don't even really see or hear each other anymore, they only see the masks that have been placed there by their own conditioning.
Feel free to respond again if you wish, I'm happy to let you have the last word since you were so kind as to engage civilly. I've enjoyed the interaction; thank you..
Why do you want a worse economy, for the US to become a pariah state, and for all our state secrets to be sold to personally enrich Trump? I mean, all the things you mentioned are reasons to vote against Trump, not for him!
I don't really see how he would be better on national security, given that most, if not all, of our national security agencies regard Trump as a threat. He frequently gives out secrets to foreign powers (whether this is accidental or purposeful is debatable), has a distinct disregard for the military, (including doing nothing about Russia putting bounties on US soldiers, instituting a trans ban in the military against the advice of the military, calling captured soldiers losers, etc.), and he also tried to overturn an election he consistently called fraudulent in spite of no evidence found to support that conclusion and loads of evidence to conclude that the election was fair through a number of methods (fake slates of electors, organizing a mod and several senators and representatives to delay certification of the election, getting Pence to not certify).
If you meant border security, then why did he help kill a bill that would have fixed many of the things he's complaining about?
If you meant border security, then why did he help kill a bill that would have fixed many of the things he’s complaining about?
What most Republicans took issue with the bill was that it actually somewhat ties the president's hands and limits how long the border can be shut down:
The bill includes a new emergency authority that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to, as Biden has put it, “shut down” the border if there are too many migrants trying to cross.
DHS could close the border if Border Patrol encountered 4,000 or more migrants on average over seven days. The border would have to be shut down if those encounters reached a seven-day average of 5,000 or if they exceeded 8,500 in a single day.
The border couldn’t be shut down under this authority for more than 270 days in the first year. And the bill would give the president the power to suspend a border closure “on an emergency basis for up to 45 days if it is in the national interest.”
During an emergency closure, Border Patrol would still need to process a minimum of 1,400 migrants who try to enter the U.S. legally through ports of entry. Only unaccompanied minors would be able to cross between ports of entry. And any migrant who tried to cross illegally two or more times during a border emergency would be barred from the U.S. for a year.
Don't Republicans support doing something now and then fixing things later? They treated fixing healthcare like that by trying to repeal the ACA without a future plan, so it seems odd that they would treat this situation different, no?
Yeah that's fair, and I do think the bill would have been a step in the right direction. I don't like absolutist advocacy, I see this in the pro life movement also. If I was in Congress I would have voted for this bill even though I'm a Republican.
You want to go back to not knowing where your next roll of toilet paper is coming from? Because that's where we ended up under Trump.
If that's what I wanted I'd be advocating for expanding the NIH and giving it more money.
What's trump got to do with toilet paper? I don't like the fucker, but I live halfway across the world and we had the exact same issue here, people bought up all the toilet paper readily available in stores.