Why was Trump unstoppable

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

Trump lost the popular vote by 2% vs the worst candidate since McGovern.

Trump got destroyed by miniority America. Quite frankly, you have no understanding of miniority America.

Miniority America is growing.

Also, Trump keeps losing a bunch of special elections, so not sure how he "keeps winning". 42% approval rating during a good economy handed down to him by free market conditions is pretty terrible. Trump has lost former swing Republican voters like me for 10 years.  

By the way, I live in rural white (& black) Georgia, and a lot of people down here who voted for him regret it. I live in the "Heartland" of America, and boy do they dislike him even here.

[TML]

I wouldn't say everyone else was "doomed" to lose to Trump, but I think the main reason why he succeeded was because he realized that the country was in a populist mood and capitalized on that. People were fed up with the establishment, which is what most other candidates (Hillary and establishment Republicans) failed to realize.

[Mr. Smith]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

Trump isn't moving the GOP to him, the GOP establishment are simply less principled and temporarily using him and his base for their own gain (Ted and Tip O'Neil were too stubborn for their own good on this one). And anyway, given what he advocated for that got him into The Midwest and his actual policies, it's pretty clear that's he's the one who moved more to them anyway.

Also, similar things were said about Obama after 2010 by his supporters...turns out he just propped himself up over 2012 and the party died after that.

Given where things are now, I don't see how this won't happen to Trump too, especially since the base reaction time is even faster. And that's assuming 2020 ends up in his favor.

[OSR stands with Israel]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

No the Bad Economy and Iran Hostage Crises cost Carter


If the Economy Was Good and their was no Iran Hostage Crises Carter gets reelected

[uti2]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

No the Bad Economy and Iran Hostage Crises cost Carter


If the Economy Was Good and their was no Iran Hostage Crises Carter gets reelected

Even with a bad economy (which was largely self-inflicted due to appointing Volcker against the advice of other Democrats), had Carter just invaded Iran, he would've won reelection.

[Fuzzy Bear]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

No the Bad Economy and Iran Hostage Crises cost Carter


If the Economy Was Good and their was no Iran Hostage Crises Carter gets reelected

Carter may well have been re-elected if there was no Ted Kennedy challenge.  Carter was unable to preempt a challenge not just from some liberal Senator, but from the highest profile Democratic Senator in the country. 

Carter was uninterested in party building.  Had he convinced Democratic officeholders that the key to continued Democratic hegemony was to build a broad-based moderate party, to recognize that liberals in the party could not get everything they wanted, but that conservatives in the party could not collaborate with Republicans and fail to support the national ticket and expect the benefits of being a Democrat to come their way.  He was unable to do this; he didn't even really try.  He failed to learn the lesson of his 1976 election, where liberals willingly settled (losing 49 states in 1972 helped them along) and conservatives went along (hence, success in 10 Southern states).

[Fuzzy Bear]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

Trump lost the popular vote by 2% vs the worst candidate since McGovern.

Trump got destroyed by miniority America. Quite frankly, you have no understanding of miniority America.

Miniority America is growing.

Also, Trump keeps losing a bunch of special elections, so not sure how he "keeps winning". 42% approval rating during a good economy handed down to him by free market conditions is pretty terrible. Trump has lost former swing Republican voters like me for 10 years.  

By the way, I live in rural white (& black) Georgia, and a lot of people down here who voted for him regret it. I live in the "Heartland" of America, and boy do they dislike him even here.

Before 2010, Obama did OK in special elections.  I would also suggest that his losses in NJ and VA governor races in 2009 were due to the weaknesses of the Democratic candidates. 

I have more of an understanding of "minority America" than you believe.  I also understand the rank Identity Politics that the Democrats have immersed themselves in, regardless of the harm that does to the nation.  (And, yes, I understand the white identity politics of the Deep South.) 

Trump worked around that to victory.  It's an outcome that I doubt can be duplicated, but it's as if (A) he was incredibly lucky, or (B) his targeting of voters was the most ingenious of my lifetime.  Really, Trump's victory coudn't have happened any other way.

[MT Treasurer]

He wasn't.

As simple as that.

[OSR stands with Israel]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

No the Bad Economy and Iran Hostage Crises cost Carter


If the Economy Was Good and their was no Iran Hostage Crises Carter gets reelected

Carter may well have been re-elected if there was no Ted Kennedy challenge.  Carter was unable to preempt a challenge not just from some liberal Senator, but from the highest profile Democratic Senator in the country. 

Carter was uninterested in party building.  Had he convinced Democratic officeholders that the key to continued Democratic hegemony was to build a broad-based moderate party, to recognize that liberals in the party could not get everything they wanted, but that conservatives in the party could not collaborate with Republicans and fail to support the national ticket and expect the benefits of being a Democrat to come their way.  He was unable to do this; he didn't even really try.  He failed to learn the lesson of his 1976 election, where liberals willingly settled (losing 49 states in 1972 helped them along) and conservatives went along (hence, success in 10 Southern states).

Carter would still have lost badly even without the Kennedy Challange.


Reagan won that election by a landslide and the reason for it was for these reasons


- The Terrible Economy
- The Iran Hostage Crises and the perception of America getting weaker on the world stage
- Reagan being a better candidate in general

[The Mikado]

Reasons are different for the primary and the general. He was never unstoppable, though, even in the primary. He had a few huge advantages in it (and as someone who was predicting he'd win the primary in 2015, I was pointing them out at the time):

1. The party refused to consolidate around anyone until WAY late in the process. Partially this was due to Jeb! staying in as long as he did, which froze a lot of institutional donors from backing other candidates for fear of alienating the Bushes even long after it was clear that Jeb would never win. Partially, this was due to so many people in the party personally despising Ted Cruz to the point that many of them preferred Trump to Cruz even if they weren't fans of either.

2. Until mid-February of 2016, there was a massive collective action problem in the party where everyone refused to attack Trump in hopes that someone else would destroy Trump for them. You end up with things like the Cruz-Trump detente and the other candidates refusing to attack him after seeing what happened to Jeb! By the time Cruz, Rubio, and Kasich really went after Trump, they looked artificial and opportunistic for doing so because the first two of them had defended him for so long.

3. Everyone was looking at the race through a 2012 lens, where the "joke candidates" would defuse and support would go to the "mainstream" one. Unlike in 2012, when you just had Romney in the mainstream lane with Huntsman a distant also-ran, in 2016, you had most of the field in that lane splitting up the vote massively, leaving a certain type of Southern/Midwestern voter to Cruz and everyone in the "blow it all up/f**k it all" camp, a massive chunk of the GOP primary electorate, mostly with Trump (after a brief flirtation with Carson in November 2015).

[bagelman]

I think the root of the problem is that people kept trying to fit a square peg through a round hole, especially in the general. Instead of addressing Trump's appeals to the working class, Clinton doubled down on being Trump's perfect foil and was thus defeated.

[Burke Bro]

He channeled the frustration of voters who felt like they were left behind during Obama's 8 years. He blamed their problems on certain minority groups and promised radical reform to the way things are run in Washington. It's as simple as that, really. 

[Beet]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

This. People want to feel strong. Immigration restriction makes them feel strong because it keeps "those types" of Others out. Trade tariffs make them feel strong because it means we're not indirectly supporting "those types" of Others. That's what this "winning" stuff is all about. Trump knows that people want to feel Strong, and that there's a certain outlook on life where there are Winners and there's Losers, and by goshdarnit, we're gonna be the Winners. That's what it comes down to.

Establishment contempt is a problem - but it's ironic because a lot of people who would be better off with a Democrat in office aren't a part of that establishment, yet they still get caught in the backlash when the establishment screws up, simply because there's no other opposition at the moment.

[Progressive Pessimist]

He was more lucky than unstoppable. What he really had working in his favor was eight years of Obama in the White House, though he probably would have lost to Obama if the 22nd Amendment didn't exist. Trump was, and still is, an enigma in American politics that was difficult to cover in the media and difficult to run against. I still say that Trump was swept into the Presidency by virtue of a perfect storm. Remove one or more things that he had in his favor and he would have lost to almost anyone.

[Sadader]

1. Immigration. This is the biggest reason by far. No other issue has such a huge disparity between the people and the politicians.

2. Trump's gaffes at least showed that he wasn't another scripted politician pushing focus group approved talking points 24/7. It was seen as crude, but genuine.

3. The media discredited itself. The inability to maintain even a semblance of impartiality reduced caused many people to tune it out completely even when there were fair criticisms to be made.

4. The establishment regarded the people and the issues faced in Middle America with condescension, if not outright contempt, and deliberately tried to subvert them. From the Colorado GOP refusing to have a primary so Trump wouldn't win delegates, to the DNC and media colluding against Sanders while super-delegates made it impossible for him to win, to National Review saying white working class communities should die, to Hillary calling 1/4 of America deplorable and bragging about how she would put coal miners out of work, it was a recipe for backlash.

This.  The only thiing I would add to this is the fact that most Americans agree with Trump on trade.

Trump positioned himself (A) right in the middle of the electorate as a whole (B) in a place where a significant number of Republicans were at, but who could not find another Republican who really represented their issues.  It kills folks to admit this, but Donald Trump has his finger on the pulse of America moreso than any other politician since Reagan.  The Trump Deniers that populate Atlas can't bring themselves to admit that not only is Trump not an idiot, he's a lot sharper than they are.

Trump keeps winning.  He wins ugly at times, but he wins.  He's winning now, remaking the GOP to conform to HIS platform (something Jimmy Carter failed to do, and it cost him a 2nd term).  Trump is all in as a Republican, and going about it the way the leader of his political party ought to be.  He "gets it" far, far more than his enemies will concede.  Frankly, I don't think you can stop a man who is as underestimated by his enemies as Trump continues to be.

No the Bad Economy and Iran Hostage Crises cost Carter


If the Economy Was Good and their was no Iran Hostage Crises Carter gets reelected

Even with a bad economy (which was largely self-inflicted due to appointing Volcker against the advice of other Democrats), had Carter just invaded Iran, he would've won reelection.

Volcker was the greatest thing to happen to the United States’ economy since World War 2. He deserved way more credit than Reagan.

[hcallega]

He was more lucky than unstoppable. What he really had working in his favor was eight years of Obama in the White House, though he probably would have lost to Obama if the 22nd Amendment didn't exist. Trump was, and still is, an enigma in American politics that was difficult to cover in the media and difficult to run against. I still say that Trump was swept into the Presidency by virtue of a perfect storm. Remove one or more things that he had in his favor and he would have lost to almost anyone.

This. There were dozens of factors that propelled Trump to victory; some of his own making, others that were the result of his opponents' failings, and still others that were just...random.

Speaking to Trump's lingering popularity vs. growing unpopularity with WWC voters, I can really only speak from personal experience. Southeast Baltimore County is "Trump Country" in that it was the backbone of the Democratic Party in the County for generations when Bethlehem Steel was the region's economic driver, but swung aggressively towards Trump. What's more illuminating is that it's General Assembly and County Council delegation swung from 100% Democratic to 100% Republican in 2014. The sort of Republicans who won were Trump-esque, only pre-Trump! Retired steel workers and police officers, and community association leaders angry at an influx of Section 8 housing replaced many career-office holder Democrats. That election, combined with Trump's, leads me to this not especially revolutionary theory: White working class voters want outsiders who listen, or at least appear to listen, to their anger. This can translate to pandering to racism and xenophobia, like Trump has, or pushing for economic policies that will empower those communities, without talking down to them or just yelling "job training" over and over. Democrats can and must do this, both for their own electoral benefit, and for the sake of those very communities.