Will Trump be the next US president?

[the-pi-guy]

Welp, Cruz dropped out.

That really sucks.  
Any chance of not-Trump being the republican nominee is 100% gone.  

Cruz didn't even need to beat Trump, all he had to do was try to keep him away from hitting his magical numbers.  

I think Kasich could do a lot better, but like no one even knows who he is.  He's like a really nice uncle you forget having until you see him at the next family gathering.  Whereas Trump is like your grandpa you see fairly regularly.  Still behind on the times, but you know who he is.  

The only question now is how does Sanders approach the DNC this Summer? I don't think Clinton can win enough delegates to get the go-ahead nomination but she still has the larger vote tally and the vast majority of superdelegates. I don't think Sanders can pull it off.  He would need to swing so many of those superdelegates to his side and I really don't think the Democrats overall want Sanders leading the party.

He has too many mountains to climb to get where he wants. If he somehow wins the nomination, which is a stretch already, he has to go up against an incredibly eager Republican party that will try to demolish him on his tax hikes. He'll be up against a businessman who will likely talk circles around him when it comes to economics. I see Sanders becoming easily flustered in debates on trying to explain his economic plans. He'll have to focus on 'feel good' rhetoric and dodge the hard issues as much as possible. Clinton is a much scarier opponent for Trump to debate.

Even if by some miracle Sanders manages to win the Presidency, he'll be up against Republicans who will do everything they can to block him. More than what Obama experienced. To make matters worse, the less Left-minded Democrats will struggle with him, too. Independent parties like the Libertarians and Constitutionalists won't abide by him, either. Basically, Sanders will be a Left Wing President in a predominantly Right Wing government. He'd have to enact an executive order just to go to the bathroom.

She's pretty much there with the super delegate count.  I'm not so convinced that Sanders couldn't hold his own against Trump.  
Sanders has done crazy well against Clinton.  Not good enough to win overall, but seriously consider what state he was in a year ago.  No one knew he was, and he was going against who is essentially the most well known woman in American politics.  Absolutely one of the most well known politicians in general.  

It's like Michael Jordan going against Kevin.  At the start of the game everyone's like who is Kevin?  And then for some reason halfway through the game everyone's saying that Kevin is underperforming because he's not winning as much.  
He's in a virtually impossible situation.  

Think winning the general would be much more in his favor than the primaries against Hillary Clinton.  

[Raven]

That really sucks.  
Any chance of not-Trump being the republican nominee is 100% gone.  

Cruz didn't even need to beat Trump, all he had to do was try to keep him away from hitting his magical numbers.  

I think Kasich could do a lot better, but like no one even knows who he is.  He's like a really nice uncle you forget having until you see him at the next family gathering.  Whereas Trump is like your grandpa you see fairly regularly.  Still behind on the times, but you know who he is.  
She's pretty much there with the super delegate count.  I'm not so convinced that Sanders couldn't hold his own against Trump.  
Sanders has done crazy well against Clinton.  Not good enough to win overall, but seriously consider what state he was in a year ago.  No one knew he was, and he was going against who is essentially the most well known woman in American politics.  Absolutely one of the most well known politicians in general.  

It's like Michael Jordan going against Kevin.  At the start of the game everyone's like who is Kevin?  And then for some reason halfway through the game everyone's saying that Kevin is underperforming because he's not winning as much.  
He's in a virtually impossible situation.  

Think winning the general would be much more in his favor than the primaries against Hillary Clinton.  

Sanders got as far as he has thanks to his "fudge the wealthy" and "I'll give you free shame" rhetoric. Clinton would have actually handed Sanders his dog a long time ago had she not been involved in these scandals. Her image has taken a big hit over these last few years. Sanders has the younger generations to thank for his spotlight but, unfortunately for him, younger voters also don't turn up nearly as much as older ones do when it's prime time.

There are a few reasons why Sanders would lose to Trump. First, the Democrat voters are very divided. Many have gone as far as to swear to not vote at all if their Democratic hopeful doesn't make it. They may not vote for Trump, though some would, but they're not going to give their vote at all. That's just as bad for the Democratic candidate as a vote going to Trump. Clinton appears to have more supporters. Such a scenario is less painful for her than it is Sanders. Trump, on the other hand, has a crushing majority support from Republican voters compared to the other Republicans that ran against him.

Second, Sanders is not only dealing with a divided Democratic voter base, but a Democratic party that doesn't want him leading as well. The superdelegate count makes it pretty clear that the Democratic party feels much more comfortable with Clinton than Sanders. Even if Sanders somehow pulled it off against her, he's then going up against a Republican party that, while not thrilled with Trump, seems hellbent on making sure the government goes heavy Right Wing soon. Sanders would be backed by a party that is actually Right Wing itself, just closer to center. Unlike Trump and the Republicans, Sanders and the Democrats are on quite different pages when it comes to the bigger issues. I would not put it past the Democrats to do what they can to sabotage Sanders.

Finally, Sanders will have to debate Trump on big issues. No. These are not social issues. Those are distractions. The economy, foreign policy, and the role of government. Sanders would have to walk an extremely tight rope with foreign policy. His views almost make him sound like he sympathizes with terrorist groups in the minds of some people. He would have to thoroughly explain his position and choose his words carefully. Trump has the easy job of basically saying "fudge them". When it comes to the economy, Sanders would get hammered. Trump will call him out on his tax plan which won't just be increasing taxes on the wealthy. Taxes for pretty much everyone would go up and not insignificantly so if he has his way. So he'll get attacked for making grand speeches against "the evil 1%" but ultimately planning to make everyone pay a lot more. Then he'll get blasted even further about how he plans to lower the deficit, which to my knowledge he has yet to sufficiently explain as his plans involve increasing government spending with little to no mention of cuts somewhere else. This also means that Sanders more or less supports a large increase in the role of government, which Trump would use as the finishing blow. At a time when the government is being incredibly criticized over its effectiveness, someone even implying that the government should have more control and more money causes a backlash from everyone but some of the younger, more naive generations.

The only chance Sanders would have is to talk a lot without actually saying anything about the big issues while trying to steer the conversation into social issues where he can use his feel good speeches to try to win hearts, since he can't win minds. Trump and the Republicans won't let that happen, though. Because they know that Sanders tries to win on feelings. So they'll force him to engage in the areas that Trump can beat him in and make him look incompetent. He'll look like good old Uncle Sanders who has a heart of gold but couldn't figure out how to put a chair together if it was just two pieces that snap together. Republicans WANT Sanders to win against Clinton. Because Clinton knows how to play this game, she's Right Wing, she has the backing of her party, and she won't get easily flustered like Sanders would. She won't have any trouble fighting Trump on the big issues.

[Dr. Pezus]

Man, America is iced nomatter what lulz

[Raven]

Man, America is iced nomatter what lulz

Thing is, there is way too much emphasis placed on the President. People often treat them like dictators who get their way no matter what. Reality is that the American government is a much larger and more complicated machine than that. Even if Sanders became President, he probably wouldn't be able to get shame done because the rest of the government would block him. If Trump became President, he can't just force a wall to be built across the Mexican border. Their power is considerable but blown way out of proportion.

[the-pi-guy]

Sanders got as far as he has thanks to his "fudge the wealthy" and "I'll give you free shame" rhetoric. Clinton would have actually handed Sanders his dog a long time ago had she not been involved in these scandals. Her image has taken a big hit over these last few years. Sanders has the younger generations to thank for his spotlight but, unfortunately for him, younger voters also don't turn up nearly as much as older ones do when it's prime time.

There are a few reasons why Sanders would lose to Trump. First, the Democrat voters are very divided. Many have gone as far as to swear to not vote at all if their Democratic hopeful doesn't make it. They may not vote for Trump, though some would, but they're not going to give their vote at all. That's just as bad for the Democratic candidate as a vote going to Trump. Clinton appears to have more supporters. Such a scenario is less painful for her than it is Sanders. Trump, on the other hand, has a crushing majority support from Republican voters compared to the other Republicans that ran against him.

Second, Sanders is not only dealing with a divided Democratic voter base, but a Democratic party that doesn't want him leading as well. The superdelegate count makes it pretty clear that the Democratic party feels much more comfortable with Clinton than Sanders. Even if Sanders somehow pulled it off against her, he's then going up against a Republican party that, while not thrilled with Trump, seems hellbent on making sure the government goes heavy Right Wing soon. Sanders would be backed by a party that is actually Right Wing itself, just closer to center. Unlike Trump and the Republicans, Sanders and the Democrats are on quite different pages when it comes to the bigger issues. I would not put it past the Democrats to do what they can to sabotage Sanders.

Finally, Sanders will have to debate Trump on big issues. No. These are not social issues. Those are distractions. The economy, foreign policy, and the role of government. Sanders would have to walk an extremely tight rope with foreign policy. His views almost make him sound like he sympathizes with terrorist groups in the minds of some people. He would have to thoroughly explain his position and choose his words carefully. Trump has the easy job of basically saying "fudge them". When it comes to the economy, Sanders would get hammered. Trump will call him out on his tax plan which won't just be increasing taxes on the wealthy. Taxes for pretty much everyone would go up and not insignificantly so if he has his way. So he'll get attacked for making grand speeches against "the evil 1%" but ultimately planning to make everyone pay a lot more. Then he'll get blasted even further about how he plans to lower the deficit, which to my knowledge he has yet to sufficiently explain as his plans involve increasing government spending with little to no mention of cuts somewhere else. This also means that Sanders more or less supports a large increase in the role of government, which Trump would use as the finishing blow. At a time when the government is being incredibly criticized over its effectiveness, someone even implying that the government should have more control and more money causes a backlash from everyone but some of the younger, more naive generations.

The only chance Sanders would have is to talk a lot without actually saying anything about the big issues while trying to steer the conversation into social issues where he can use his feel good speeches to try to win hearts, since he can't win minds. Trump and the Republicans won't let that happen, though. Because they know that Sanders tries to win on feelings. So they'll force him to engage in the areas that Trump can beat him in and make him look incompetent. He'll look like good old Uncle Sanders who has a heart of gold but couldn't figure out how to put a chair together if it was just two pieces that snap together. Republicans WANT Sanders to win against Clinton. Because Clinton knows how to play this game, she's Right Wing, she has the backing of her party, and she won't get easily flustered like Sanders would. She won't have any trouble fighting Trump on the big issues.

Don't agree.  The number of people who actually care about the scandals is almost certainly far less than what one would expect.  
If Trump and Bernie were to make it to the general election, then both parties would be very split.  But the thing to keep in mind is, the deck is likely stacked against Trump.  

I can't imagine the electoral college would vote for Clinton in a situation where Trump was the other person.

[Raven]

Don't agree.  The number of people who actually care about the scandals is almost certainly far less than what one would expect.  
If Trump and Bernie were to make it to the general election, then both parties would be very split.  But the thing to keep in mind is, the deck is likely stacked against Trump.  

I can't imagine the electoral college would vote for Clinton in a situation where Trump was the other person.

I can assure you that her delegate count would have already been enough to secure her nomination if her image hadn't taken a hit over the years. Her scandals have been a big point of contention among Democrats. A lot of Democrats think she's a liar.

The nation in general is very Right Wing. Sanders is too far Left for the taste of the powers that be and both parties know it. Clinton is the best chance the Democrats have of winning the election. Sanders is doomed to fail. It would take a miracle for him to win in the current political climate and establishment.

[the-pi-guy]

John Kasich is finally stuffed, suspends campaign - NeoGAF

Check please!

[Legend]

Guess he just  wanted to outlast Cruz.

[Aura7541]

Don't agree.  The number of people who actually care about the scandals is almost certainly far less than what one would expect.  
If Trump and Bernie were to make it to the general election, then both parties would be very split.  But the thing to keep in mind is, the deck is likely stacked against Trump.  

I can't imagine the electoral college would vote for Clinton in a situation where Trump was the other person.

Those archived emails on Wikileaks, though.... do not make me confident in her foreign policy.

[DerNebel]

So Trump is actually going to be nominated huh? May I ask what the fudge is wrong with your country guys?

[the-pi-guy]

So Trump is actually going to be nominated huh? May I ask what the fudge is wrong with your country guys?

Our left wing is right wing and our right wing is falling-off-the-right-side-right-wing.

[the-pi-guy]

I can assure you that her delegate count would have already been enough to secure her nomination if her image hadn't taken a hit over the years. Her scandals have been a big point of contention among Democrats. A lot of Democrats think she's a liar.

The nation in general is very Right Wing. Sanders is too far Left for the taste of the powers that be and both parties know it. Clinton is the best chance the Democrats have of winning the election. Sanders is doomed to fail. It would take a miracle for him to win in the current political climate and establishment.

I think if that was just the case, then other candidates would have done better.  There were other democrats who were more perhaps right leaning than she was (and definitely could have more appeal), who didn't get as far as he is getting.
So Bernie not being Clinton is helping, but I don't think it's the thing that's really driving his success.  If that was the only thing, I think we would see someone else who was still in the race who was closer to that viewpoint.  

[Raven]

I think if that was just the case, then other candidates would have done better.  There were other democrats who were more perhaps right leaning than she was (and definitely could have more appeal), who didn't get as far as he is getting.
So Bernie not being Clinton is helping, but I don't think it's the thing that's really driving his success.  If that was the only thing, I think we would see someone else who was still in the race who was closer to that viewpoint.  

Clinton has a bigger presence than any of those other candidates and she isn't a Leftist like Sanders. It's not about "who is more Right". Rather, "who isn't Left".

Sanders' success is based on captivating younger generations and minorities with the promise of "free stuff" and "sticking it to the man". Two groups the other candidates failed to grab. He's too Left to survive the current establishments, will stumble in actually having to explain his plans, and his most passionate followers are the voter demographic least likely to show up on election day. His success is notable but doomed to fail.

[the-pi-guy]

[Max King of the Wild]

Was that the shortest lived VP run ever?

I think if that was just the case, then other candidates would have done better.  There were other democrats who were more perhaps right leaning than she was (and definitely could have more appeal), who didn't get as far as he is getting.
So Bernie not being Clinton is helping, but I don't think it's the thing that's really driving his success.  If that was the only thing, I think we would see someone else who was still in the race who was closer to that viewpoint. 

What other candidates? It's been Hillary and Obama since 2008. One can't run anymore.

As I said months ago, Bernie has a snowballs chance in hell. He isn't a smart option.  Never was. He was actually pretty clueless when it came to economics (Student loans/Uber)