...I think Trump was self-serving and a coward. His comment's about McCain show disrespect for veterans and POW's. I doubt he has a snowball's chance in hell of getting a party nomination now. Which is good.Obviously Trump was and is self-serving. Obviously he frequently makes disrespectful statements towards individuals and groups. Obviously the powers that be in the Republican Party will do whatever they can (without losing too much of their base) to prevent him from getting the party nomination, should he continue to steamroll. But IMO his avoidance of serving in Viet Nam, of itself, is not evidence of cowardice. Not everyone who avoids military service in war time is a coward. There are plenty of negative things one could accurately say to malign Trump's character. e.g., You could say that he is a Raw Id, a narcissistic blowhard, and someone who perseveringly contradicts his own statements. No need to stretch and accuse him of cowardice, when that is not obvious. In fact, he seems unusually fearless to me. I don't think Trump is brave or "fearless". He uses his money to bully and snatch land from people in NY (eminent domain), he uses his position of wealth to bully people. He deliberately avoided war-time when his fellow citizens were serving. (yet bad-mouths a man who was a POW) He insults people and whole segments of society. All of which to me, speaks of being a coward. As, he's sheltered from the repercussions of his actions and words. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/08/19/donald-trumps-abuse-of-eminent-domain/
Ah, finally found my way back to this forum. I'd be curious what the commenters think of Trump now, as opposed to when this thread started.I like the gentleman even more now. George Will's astute observations describe the Trump situation. (article link below) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-havoc-that-donald-trump-wreaks--on-his-own-party/2015/08/26/7418c2c8-4b4c-11e5-84df-923b3ef1a64b_story.html
I also see no clear evidence that Trump is a chicken hawk. In his ego driven fantasy, his stance about war seems to be that he will build a military that is so formidable that all our enemies will feel compelled to capitulate without us firing a shot. A chicken hawk would want us to actually inflict death and destruction in order to impose our will on our enemies.Actually, a chicken hawk is someone who is in favor of and advances military power and war but who never joined the military. By that definition, Trump is a chicken hawk, as are far too many people in our government and in the media. This website provides an interesting list of chicken hawks in our midst (a matter of opinion, of course). www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks/Your comments about Mr. Donald Trump being a chickenhawk are also a matter of opinion, since you can't back it up. I CAN back it up. He was never in the military and he has been quoted as saying he's in favor of military might. That's all it takes to be a chicken hawk. No opinion necessary! With only three days to go before the first 2016 Republican debate, Donald Trump has finally begun revealing what his administration would focus on if he were elected. "Trump said Monday that the first items on his agenda would be increasing the U.S. military’s strength and getting rid of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act." http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-1st-order-business-prez-building-military-article-1.2312826 Trump, who received multiple draft deferments and a high draft lottery number during the Vietnam War, took off a shoe to explain the heel spurs that prompted the medical deferments. The Vietnam war, he added, "was a mistake." “My number was so incredible and it was a very high draft number. Anyway so I never had to do that, but I felt that I was in the military in the true sense because I dealt with those people," Trump told the author in another excerpt. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/donald-trump-military-service-213392#ixzz3qSI8fQTY That is not a matter of opinion.
Ah, finally found my way back to this forum. I'd be curious what the commenters think of Trump now, as opposed to when this thread started.I didn't think he'd get above 30% in the polls. I was wrong there, but not by much. Of course that Ben Carson is his new competition is just as scary. Just that Trump is still in the race at all is bad for America. I hope this gets better before the Iowa caucus.
Ah, finally found my way back to this forum. I'd be curious what the commenters think of Trump now, as opposed to when this thread started.I didn't think he'd get above 30% in the polls. I was wrong there, but not by much. Of course that Ben Carson is his new competition is just as scary. Just that Trump is still in the race at all is bad for America. I hope this gets better before the Iowa caucus. Seen on Twitter: "Like him or not, Ben Carson has forced us to ask some tough questions." "Like, have we been overestimating the intelligence of brain surgeons?"
Ah, finally found my way back to this forum. I'd be curious what the commenters think of Trump now, as opposed to when this thread started.I didn't think he'd get above 30% in the polls. I was wrong there, but not by much. Of course that Ben Carson is his new competition is just as scary. Just that Trump is still in the race at all is bad for America. I hope this gets better before the Iowa caucus. Seen on Twitter: "Like him or not, Ben Carson has forced us to ask some tough questions." "Like, have we been overestimating the intelligence of brain surgeons?" The first supporters of Ben Carson that I saw were my crazy evangelical cousins. There was some kind of grass roots organizing going on by that demographic and it was big enough to put him on the national stage. Now that he's there, people have to take him seriously, which doesn't mean taking what he says as serious, it means seriously scrutinizing what he says. His support of a miracle cure pyramid scheme made it all the way to the debate and his confused sound bites on abortion are getting plenty of play. His clock is ticking.
Ah, finally found my way back to this forum. I'd be curious what the commenters think of Trump now, as opposed to when this thread started.I like the gentleman even more now. No surprise there!
Ah, finally found my way back to this forum. I'd be curious what the commenters think of Trump now, as opposed to when this thread started.I like the gentleman even more now. Ah, and this is why the GOP is in trouble. *laughing out loud here*Yup. It's a good thing.
I also see no clear evidence that Trump is a chicken hawk. In his ego driven fantasy, his stance about war seems to be that he will build a military that is so formidable that all our enemies will feel compelled to capitulate without us firing a shot. A chicken hawk would want us to actually inflict death and destruction in order to impose our will on our enemies.Actually, a chicken hawk is someone who is in favor of and advances military power and war but who never joined the military. By that definition, Trump is a chicken hawk, as are far too many people in our government and in the media. This website provides an interesting list of chicken hawks in our midst (a matter of opinion, of course). www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks/Your comments about Mr. Donald Trump being a chickenhawk are also a matter of opinion, since you can't back it up. I CAN back it up. He was never in the military and he has been quoted as saying he's in favor of military might. That's all it takes to be a chicken hawk. No opinion necessary! With only three days to go before the first 2016 Republican debate, Donald Trump has finally begun revealing what his administration would focus on if he were elected. "Trump said Monday that the first items on his agenda would be increasing the U.S. military’s strength and getting rid of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act." http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-1st-order-business-prez-building-military-article-1.2312826 Trump, who received multiple draft deferments and a high draft lottery number during the Vietnam War, took off a shoe to explain the heel spurs that prompted the medical deferments. The Vietnam war, he added, "was a mistake." “My number was so incredible and it was a very high draft number. Anyway so I never had to do that, but I felt that I was in the military in the true sense because I dealt with those people," Trump told the author in another excerpt. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/donald-trump-military-service-213392#ixzz3qSI8fQTY That is not a matter of opinion. Your wrong about the definition of "Chickenhawk"; it doesn't mean someone who simply supports a strong military (as Trump was quoted saying in the link you gave) it means someone is in favor of war but is not willing to serve themselves --
Chickenhawk (also chicken hawk and chicken-hawk) is a political term used in the United States to describe a person who strongly supports war or other military action (i.e., a war hawk), yet who actively avoids or avoided military service when of age. The term indicates that the person in question is hypocritical for personally dodging a draft or otherwise shirking their duty to their country during a time of armed conflict while advocating that others do so. Generally, the implication is that chickenhawks lack the moral character to participate in war themselves, preferring to ask others to support, fight and perhaps die in an armed conflict. Those who avoid military service and continue to oppose military action are not chickenhawks.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenhawk_(politics) The fact that Trump didn't go to Vietnam doesn't matter because there isn't any evidence he supported that war.
The fact that Trump didn't go to Vietnam doesn't matter because there isn't any evidence he supported that war.Worst argument ever
The fact that Trump didn't go to Vietnam doesn't matter because there isn't any evidence he supported that war.Worst argument ever Mid Atlantic is technically right about the definition. Trump would be more accurately called a military coward, at least until we can come up with a better term. You're right about the argument, though. Lois
The fact that Trump didn't go to Vietnam doesn't matter because there isn't any evidence he supported that war.Worst argument everHow so?
The fact that Trump didn't go to Vietnam doesn't matter because there isn't any evidence he supported that war.Worst argument everHow so? You make up part of a definition, that the person has to be a chicken and not go to a specific war while being a hawk about that same war. That's not a requirement. Then you bring a "lack of evidence". Did you look?
Back to the original topic. If you read up on McCain, you’ll see he was subpar at the Naval Academy, a subpar pilot, and was shot down and captured months after going to Vietnam. Now being a prisoner of war, especially in Vietnam, does qualify you as special and to an extent herioc, but no more no less than any of the other POWs who survived. What he certainly was NOT was an actual war hero, like Kerry, or James Stockdale. McCain was just a subpar golden boy (because of his father and grandfather) who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.