Will Trump's comments about Russia hurt him?

[President Johnson]

No. #TeflonDon

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Not sure how much alone it will hurt, but I think it is becoming part of a bigger story about Trump and Russia. And if the notion that Trump is going to be soft on Russia seeps through, that will hurt him. Especially as Trump has made being tough with other countries (notably China and Mexico) such a big part of his brand.

This

[OwlRhetoric]

Nope. It will be mostly forgotten by Friday as DNC coverage ramps up.

[jollyschwa]

I think it gave the heavy hitters speaking tonight a lot of ammo and that'll hurt him.

[Hermit For Peace]

What seems logical to me is that Trump couldn't stand not being in all the headlines because of the DNC going on, so he had to say something to get his name back up in the spotlight.

This did the trick.

He's so predictable it's boring.

And no it won't hurt him because nothing hurts him. The more outrageous he acts the better, it seems.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

It makes me proud that Trump too is a Russophile - one of the greatest cultures, the world over.

[PeteB]

Very unlikely.  Those who understand US-Russia relations have already fallen into two camps:

1. Madeline Albright/Hillary Clinton school of thought who believe that Trump would jeopardize world peace and encourage Russians and
2. Hawks at Penatagon and State, who are hoping that a tougher talking neophyte (Trump) could allow them an opportunity and carte blanche to shape a different foreign policy - these people understand Trump's imperfections but are hoping to put them to their own advantage.

The rest couldn't care less, even if, like Sarah Palin, they can see Russia out of their window .

[windjammer]

No lol

[afleitch]

No. A swathe of white America are miserable and want that misery to spread to everyone else. Trump could give Putin the nuclear codes and they would cheer.

[cowboys5xsbs]

No I think people want to see Hillary's dirty emails.

[Cassius]

No. A swathe of white America are miserable and want that misery to spread to everyone else. Trump could give Putin the nuclear codes and they would cheer.

Really? They're not the ones always out on the streets protesting about some sh**tty cause.

[Trapsy]

If Russia has emails it will hurt Hillz but if his tax returns that shows that he financial ties to Russia it will hurt him.

[Sbane]

It won't help him but it won't hurt him either. It may hurt him among some #nevertrump people who were considering him after the convention. It won't hurt him with that core 40-42% of people who are behind him though. Fortunately, he can't win with just those people. He needs to expand his support up to 45-46% of the population at the least and these comments don't help with that.

[Gass3268]

Will he lose any of his supporters because of this, of course not. This does do two things: Probably helps lock in a lot of the soft/undecided but non-BernieBro voters, along with the rest of the DNC. Also its just another excuse for #NeverTrump folks to stay away.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

neh. 90-95% of anyone still supporting him at this point is a cultist whose mind (such as it is) will not be changed by anything.

What if he shot a guy in the middle of Times Square?

[Fusionmunster]

Atlas is evenly split it seems.

[Horus]

No, they will probably make him more popular.

[Fusionmunster]

Will it, hopefully. Should it, absolutely.

[Inmate Trump]

The racists who support Trump won't care about his close ties to Vladimir Putin's Russia.

[ProudModerate2]

He picked the wrong day to do this...Obama and Biden can bring the hammer down when tens of millions will be watching tonight. This cry for attention just pumps up the hype for their speeches.

I don't think it will have a huge impact but it is just another thing that scares away educated voters.

I agree with this.
Hopefully Obama and Biden slam trump tonight on this issue.
I also agree that this will only push away any hope for educated Republicans and educated Independents to support trump.
I can see the banners now ..... Trump/Putin 2016.

[Storebought]

No. Trump is the (US-)American Hugo Chavez. His opponents gain nothing by taking what he says seriously.

If the DNC makes any mention of it (outside of Biden making jokes about it -- which
would be a good thing, since it shows that Democrats have a sense of humor and not entirely all
prissy moralising busybodies), then Trump will have successfully derailed it, which was his intention all along. That, and to remind people about Hillary's email problems.

[Storebought]

Does this not sound like something Hugo Chavez would say about Obama during one of his six hour interviews:

Trump says Putin, the man who he doesn't know and never met, calls Obama the N-word

[ProudModerate2]

Does this not sound like something Hugo Chavez would say about Obama during one of his six hour interviews:

Trump says Putin, the man who he doesn't know and never met, calls Obama the N-word

That was trump's way of sneaking-in some racism and bigotry into his overall statement.
You know .... a way to feed his white supremacist supporters some red meat.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I think if it weren't today, with Obama, Biden and Kaine... then probably nothing, but he will be beaten over the head with this.

[Californiadreaming]

No. After all, you are talking about a man who wasn't hurt (at least not over the long-run) by his previous KKK comments, by his previous flip-flop(s) on abortion within several years, and by his racist comment against an Indiana-born Mexican-American judge.