How is anyone still undecided? Mitt Romney off the deep end?
The David Pakman Show - May 17, 2024
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How could anyone be "undecided" on Trump vs Biden at this point?
This week, Donald Trump accepted Joe Biden's challenge to two debates during the election season, with the first one coming as early as next month. Some argue that with the stark differences between Trump and Biden's platforms, debates seem unnecessary. They suggest that anyone who has been paying attention should already have made up their minds based on the clear ideological distinctions between the two candidates. On the other hand, proponents of the debates emphasize their importance, particularly for undecided voters. Debates offer a crucial opportunity for Americans, especially those who haven't closely followed politics, to hear directly from the candidates and gain clarity on various issues. Even though the debates may not delve deeply into policy specifics, the visual impressions and overall performances could sway undecided voters, especially those less engaged in political discourse.
"Reasonable" Mitt Romney won't vote Trump, but would PARDON him? WTF?
Despite Senator Mitt Romney being a relatively reasonable Republican, his recent suggestion regarding President Biden potentially pardoning Donald Trump makes no sense. Romney, known for his principled stances and commitment to democracy, asserts that while he won't vote for Trump due to his values, he believes Biden should consider pardoning him. Romney argues that such a move would portray Biden as magnanimous and help heal national divisions. However, critics argue that pardoning Trump would alienate Democratic voters and fail to win over Trump's loyal base. Romney's perspective overlooks the complexities of the political landscape and the potential backlash such a pardon could provoke. While Romney's suggestion may stem from a desire for unity, its practical implications and political ramifications suggest it would be a bad decision.
From yesterday’s show:
Trump TERRIFIED that RFK might debate him
Donald Trump is expressing concern about the possibility of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. participating in the forthcoming debates between Joe Biden and himself. Trump argues that Biden fears Kennedy's far-left views, particularly on issues like open borders and environmental policies, and suggests Kennedy's intelligence poses a threat. However, the real reason for Trump's reluctance is Kennedy's anti-vax stance, which challenges Trump's narrative on vaccines. Despite Trump's attempts to portray Kennedy as further left than Biden, Kennedy's campaign lacks the required support in national polls and ballot access in enough states to secure a spot on the debate stage. While Trump perceives Kennedy as a threat, the likelihood of his participation in the debates remains slim.
From yesterday’s show:
Young voters don't really believe Trump & Biden are the same, do they?
As the 2024 election approaches, there's a growing misconception among some young people that there's little difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, reminiscent of the "both sides of the same coin" argument seen in 2016. This belief overlooks the significant policy disparities between the two administrations. From attitudes towards democracy to women's rights, healthcare, immigration, environmental protection, and taxation, the contrast is stark. Examples include Trump's attempts to overturn election results versus Biden's respect for democratic processes, Trump's support for stripping women's bodily autonomy versus Biden's opposition, and Trump's deregulation agenda versus Biden's focus on consumer and environmental protections. While both parties operate within the same political system, this reality doesn't negate the substantial differences in policy and their real-world impact on people's lives. It's crucial not to fall into the trap of equating the two, as doing so risks misinformation and uninformed political engagement.
More on the show:
-- Mitt Romney crushes the Republican lapdogs who are showing up to Donald Trump's criminal trial to support him
-- Caller asks what happens to Project 2025 if Trump loses
-- Caller has Trump supporters in his family
-- Caller asks about the trustworthiness of pharmaceutical companies
-- Caller discusses "vote swapping" with people in other states
-- Caller asks if Trump or Biden is more vulnerable in the debates
-- Caller considers voting Green Party because of the Israel/Gaza war
-- The Friday Feedback segment
-- On the Bonus Show: Texas Governor pardons BLM protest shooter, Supreme Court upholds consumer board funding mechanism, and much more...
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Next week, the Prosecutors will have the opportunity to re-direct their questions back to Michael Cohen and they will cover all the issues that Cohen has been hit with. They will acknowledge that Cohen's prison sentence was to protect Trump. They will address all of the cirticism that Trump's lawyers threw at him. Everything will be above board. And no, pardoning Trump would destroy our nation. His crimes are so serious that a pardon is ridiculous. Nothing good would come out of it.
Wrong reason to criticize Romney's pardon suggestion.
"However, critics argue that pardoning Trump would alienate Democratic voters and fail to win over Trump's loyal base."
If you are going to do a realpolitik analysis of a pardon, Romney may be right. Yes, it would not win over Trump's loyal base and would alienate Democratic voter, but the Democratic voters would still vote for Biden and this analysis ignores an important group, the "reasonable" Republicans who like Romney and hate Trump but are not sold on voting for Biden.
So, the conclusion that "its practical implications and political ramifications suggest it would be a bad decision. " is not clear.
The reason that pardoning Trump is a terrible idea is NOT the "political ramifications" but the principled, moral and legal ones. It would continue to deny the principal that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW. We shouldn't even be discussing it from the frame of "would this help Biden win?"