WI Trump ran in 2012

What if Donald Trump ran in 2012? Would he be doing as well as he is doing now? Many of the ingredients for his success are already there. Or would he lose? What would be the effects if he ran? What if?
 
I believe that Trump's only conceivable time is now, his Republican opponents are weak, and Hillary Clinton is not trusted by too much of the electorate, which also explains why Bernie Sanders is doing so well. The past two Presidents, Bush and Obama, alienated segments of their own parties. People are tired of professional politicians, on both sides. In 2012 I think Trump would have been out by Super Tuesday.

Of course I am not a political pundit, so I could be wrong.
 
If he managed to gain support similar to what he has now, I imagine the Republican Party would be able to consolidate behind a Anti-Romney, Anti-Trump candidate easier. Either way,the Republicans would still lose 2012.

If Trump actually goes with his more 'Liberal' views,he won't get anywhere. Romney had to flip flop just to win the nomination and make the Republicans happy and even then he was more of a sacrificial lamb.
 
The main problem for him then would have been that the establishment was united behind Romney, who we know was a strong candidate (in the primary). Then again, maybe Trump would have destroyed Romney the way he destroyed Bush and Walker IOTL.
 
That would be four year early. The political mood was different. I don't see him winning the nomination. If he does, he loses by a landslide, like he will this fall. Obama would have a Democratic House 2013 - 2015.
 
Depends if he can get Romney to fold like Bush, or if Romney stands up to him like he stood against the rest of the anti-Romneys.
 
Depends if he can get Romney to fold like Bush, or if Romney stands up to him like he stood against the rest of the anti-Romneys.

I don't think Romney would be ready for Trump's offbeat ideology, and he'd probably be able to get away with crass stuff like he has this time, which would seem terrifying compared to Bachmann or Cain. Honestly, I think he could have taken Romney down, but probably lose to Obama anyways.
 
Obama still wins. Just like today, for every Reagan Democrat that goes for Trump, moderate and establishment Republicans would stay home or reluctantly vote Democratic.
 
Back in 2012, he was still in his Birther phase, which made him appear to be even more of a crackpot than now. Then again, Rick Perry, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum were also leading the polls at one point, so you never know.
 
I think he could win the nomination in 2012, but he would lose in the general by a significant margin - worse than he'll do in 2016. I think the Democrats and pundits are underestimating GOP disdain for Hillary Clinton that exists far more than their dislike of Barack Obama. Trump will do worse than Romney in the general in 12, but I think the roadmap to victory in the primary is definitely doable if harder than 2016.
 
he did try. He went to cpac, garnered no following, and went know farther after his trial balloon deflated. The Republicans wanted the safe candidate in 2012 to beat Obama. Trump is doing good now because the Romney strategy didn't work.
 
Why would Obama have a democratic house?
I assume the idea is that Trump alienates enough Republicans into not voting/terrifies enough Democrats into voting that the down-ballot effects support the Democrats more. I'm not sure if it would be enough; the House is sufficiently gerrymandered that it would take a fairly phenomenal swing in population to allow the Democrats to come back (they won a majority of the House votes as it was, they were just not well distributed). If the Democrats did take the House, however, another 2 years of effective governance (rather than gridlock) would be huge; they would still collapse in 2014, however.
 
however, another 2 years of effective governance (rather than gridlock) would be huge; they would still collapse in 2014, however.

That depends on what the Dems do in those two years. Ifbthey have learned from 2010, they will pass important legislation that would quicken the recovery, allowing for a win in 2014. If not, then there will be a Republican sweep in 2014.
 

Stolengood

Banned
I think the main reason Trump is succeeding right now is because Obama's out of the picture. If Obama were up for a third term, Trump's balloon would've deflated long ago.
 
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