WI: Trump runs in 2012

Trump, being Trump, probably swipes away the collection of circus clowns who ran against Romney and turns it into a two-way race. You probably see a result similar to Bernie vs. Hillary IOTL. In 2012 the anger and resentment that fueled Trump's rise was there, but like the Democrats in 2016, the establishment vote was strong enough and remained the majority, so the anti-establishment candidate would lose.

He could get close, very close, but in 2012 the GOP establishment was still strong enough to defeat him.
 
Ron Paul, a fellow member of the alt-right, got smashed hard. I think the same would happen to Trump.
 
If Trump were to run, he'd weaken Romney going into the general election. Furthermore, that would further help Obama amongst Hispanics.

Perhaps the sting of defeat will result in him deciding not to run in 2016.
 
A debate between Trump and Obama would be epic. Youtube has shown that Obama can make a good one liner if needed. It will be the most watch debate ever and the hype, imagine the hype for the debates. It will be Super Bowl on steroids. The whole world will stand still during those hours when the debates are held.
 
A debate between Trump and Obama would be epic. Youtube has shown that Obama can make a good one liner if needed. It will be the most watch debate ever and the hype, imagine the hype for the debates. It will be Super Bowl on steroids. The whole world will stand still during those hours when the debates are held.

TRUMP: B. Hussein Obama is a Kenyan Muslim.

VIEWERS: *laughter*
 

Minty_Fresh

Banned
Border security is always a popular topic in the GOP's base, but in 2012, the outrage was about the Stimulus and Dodd Frank, in addition to ACA, rather than about the border. Obama's first term saw many deportations, to the point where Republicans grudgingly admitted that Obama was doing something right, and Obama was hammered by the SJW Left for this. He changed course in his second term as a result of that lobbying, and the 2014 Central American migrant surge was handled really poorly, with illegals being housed temporarily in areas that wanted nothing to do with them, and all of this was after the big 2013 Amnesty attempt by both parties that was opposed vehemently by the grass roots GOP.

Trump was able to capitalize on an issue that was at the forefront of people's minds and what made them tick. His protectionism is seen as a benefit by some and a failing by others, but there is almost total support for border security policies in the Republican base.

Romney in 2012 faced a bunch of clowns, and beat them. Santorum's foray into economic populism gave him a brief chance, but his strident social conservatism alienated coastal Republican voters and he lost as a result. The GOP in 2012 was focused on the economic policies of the Obama administration, and the activist base got really riled about about Dodd Frank and Obamacare. Trump wouldn't really have a good answer for that. Romney ripped Dodd Frank whenever he could to make up for his deviations as Massachusetts governor, and it worked in the end.

Also, Trump's birtherism made him not serious. He would split the extremist vote with Ron Paul.
 
Ron Paul, a fellow member of the alt-right, got smashed hard. I think the same would happen to Trump.

Ron Paul, a libertarian, is not part of the alt-right. The alt-right as we know it today only arose after the destruction of the Tea Party movement by the GOP establishment after the 2014 mid-term elections.
 
Ron Paul, a libertarian, is not part of the alt-right. The alt-right as we know it today only arose after the destruction of the Tea Party movement by the GOP establishment after the 2014 mid-term elections.

I honestly don't think you can call someone who supports voter disenfranchisement laws a libertarian.
 
I honestly don't think you can call someone who supports voter disenfranchisement laws a libertarian.

Your opinions, clearly evinced by your use of the politically loaded term, "voter disenfranchisement law," seem to be clouding your judgement. Ron Paul opposed overseas intervention, the War on Drugs, eminent domain, conscription, public education, and Medicare and Medicaid. Those positions are the hallmarks of the modern libertarian movement in the United States, and that specific combination is found almost nowhere else.
 
Your opinions, clearly evinced by your use of the politically loaded term, "voter disenfranchisement law," seem to be clouding your judgement.

You misspelled "evidenced".

Ron Paul opposed overseas intervention, the War on Drugs, eminent domain, conscription, public education, and Medicare and Medicaid. Those positions are the hallmarks of the modern libertarian movement in the United States, and that specific combination is found almost nowhere else.

Yeah, I seem to be mistaken about Paul not being a libertarian. However, as is evident in his racial views, and his support of voter disenfranchisement laws (or "ID", if you must), he is also a member of the alt-right. And it is certainly true that he won support from many of the people who would later support Trump.
 
You misspelled "evidenced".



Yeah, I seem to be mistaken about Paul not being a libertarian. However, as is evident in his racial views, and his support of voter disenfranchisement laws (or "ID", if you must), he is also a member of the alt-right. And it is certainly true that he won support from many of the people who would later support Trump.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evinced

The point I made earlier was that, while Ron Paul was active in American politics, the alt-right did not exist. While many who now support Trump supported Paul in 2012, most of those people are not members of the alt-right, and not everybody who supports Trump is a member of the alt-right, although essentially all members of the alt-right support Trump. Ron Paul himself does not support Trump, and neither Ron Paul nor Donald Trump are members of the alt-right.
 

Minty_Fresh

Banned
Ron Paul, a libertarian, is not part of the alt-right. The alt-right as we know it today only arose after the destruction of the Tea Party movement by the GOP establishment after the 2014 mid-term elections.
The alt-right has its ideological beginnings in a mixture of White Nationalism, American PaleoConservatism that often brushes up against PaleoLibertarianism, and the European New Right. Ron Paul's friendliness with Marine Le Pen and other European New Rightists over mutual support for Russian imperialism and for the gold standard provides a link between two of the three ideologies. And the truth of the matter is that White Nationalism and PaleoConservatism more often than not find alignment among its members. There are of course disagreements, but Ron Paul, aside from Pat Buchanan, is the nearest to mainstream relevance for the ideologies that helped create the alt-right.

Trumpian border hawkishness had a recent forebearer in Tom Tancredo and a basis in economic populism that has always lain dormant in the conservative movement, occasionally propped up by culture warriors like Buchanan, Huckabee, and Santorum whose views on cultural issues alienate them from the vast majority of voters.

The social beginnings of the American alt-right came from chan culture, and recently, came to encompass the backlash against campus and youth left wing identity politics. To a lesser extent, it can be found in the isolation from modern youth culture that many feel.

But the movement has far more bark than bite, and is not at all an electoral force and likely won't be for at least another 15-20 years, at which point it could be all but dead.
 
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I'll start off a small TL for fun:

May 16, 2011: Trump announces his run

June 13, 2011: Trump takes part in his first debate and the second one in the Republican primary. He spends much of his time attacking Romney, who, like Jeb Bush, finds his poll numbers start to slide

June-December 2011: Trump's poll numbers fluctuate, sometimes increasing, sometimes decreasing, sometimes looking like he's pulling away from the pack, and sometimes losing the lead altogether. By the time of the Iowa caucuses, the polls look something like this:
  1. Trump
  2. Santorum
  3. Gingrich
  4. Romney
  5. Paul
  6. Huntsman
  7. Bachmann
To be continued later...
 
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