Trump will swing pretty far left if he gets the nomination

[Fumesucker]

Trump's not an ideologue he's the ultimate pragmatist, whatever the hell will get him elected is fine with him.

It wouldn't surprise me at all to hear him call his own primary rhetoric bullshit if he were to get the nom, he's got enough money to get away with a lot and I"m gradually realizing he's actually wicked smaht, he certainly taking the Republican party for a ride.

[VMA131Marine]

1. That could invite a serious 3rd party challenge from the right...

who would take the conservative wing of the GOP with him/her.

[Fumesucker]

7. That's what I was thinking

I'm still not entirely convinced Trump actually wants the Presidency although he would certainly love all the attention.

[Quixote1818]

2. Been thinking the same thing.

He has to be-careful not to completely upset the base though. He will need to throw them some kind of bone.

[Ed Suspicious]

3. I think that's the biggest issue about this theory. He will have risen from the base and the base

will still be around demanding he play the hits.

[Fumesucker]

6. Some of them are considering Bernie already, it's been a Clinton camp talking point...

Trump is doing a Gish Gallop, it's his style more than his substance that is getting votes, a Gish Gallop can go damn near anywhere because it has no meaning anyway.

[JI7]

4. trump has always been a racist, he hates blacks and jews especially

he is not religious and that whole thing is fake. but the same is true of many religious people who are really bigots under the cover of god. the falwell endorsement and evangelical support for him shows this.

[AgadorSparticus]

8. Oh and the irony of that one! You would think a religious whackjob

Like Falwell would throw in his support with the other religious whackjob, Cruz. But NO!!! He supports Trump whose only God is the almighty dollar. Go figure.

[leftynyc]

11. It'll be a tough sell

that he's an anti semite when his most favorite child, Ivanka, has converted to Orthodox Judaism in order to marry her husband. Doesn't seem to bother him a bit.

[AgadorSparticus]

9. Yeaaaaa....not holding my breath on that one.

I hope your are right. But it sounds like wishful thinking to me.

[Hortensis]

13. Same here, but he is a loose flywheel and

my guess is he'd be all over the place. My other guess is that other people would actually be making most policy while he made most speeches and that those other people would be very conservative.

[LAGC]

10. You mean back to the left?

Ahem.

[Bucky]

12. Agreed. Of course independents aren't as gullible as the GOP base

He's boxed himself in. But I still kinda doubt that he'll be nominated.

[pampango]

14. On safety net issues (Social Security, health care, etc.) he might. On taxes, deregulation,

and the power of the 1% I doubt he will swing left at all.

Most of the racists and xenophobes in his base will stay with him as long as he convinces them that the safety net is just there for them, not for immigrants, refugees and OTHERS who are not like them. The far-right in Europe generally operates that way. They have quite similar policies with regard to safety nets, trade, immigration, refugees, etc.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

15. Why on earth would he do that?

He's spent months building his "brand", that being a ultra-nationalistic proto-fascist that appeals to the raw, base emotions of white conservatives.

So far it's worked well for him (disturbing as it is). If he actually succeeds in getting the nomination (even more disturbing), it would have worked even better for him.

What you're telling me is that he'll immediately drop the base that got him to where he is, instantly alienating them, and somehow attempt to outflank a Clinton or Sanders nominee on the left?

And what person on the left would actually buy that, knowing what he's done up to this point? I certainly hope no one here's that stupid.

No, there's no way he does any of that. He might not be a true ideologue, but he's riding the message he's delivering up through the general election, if God forbid he gets that far.

And after that point, if--please God no--he actually wins, I don't think he'll think about right or left. I think he'll be obsessed about Donald Trump the Supreme Leader, and attempt to challenge anyone he sees as a threat to his divine power. It will be a clusterfuck like this country hasn't seen in decades, perhaps over a century, maybe not even ever.

He scares me like no one else. Yes, more than Cruz.

[Vinca]

16. That's what I think, too. He'll be trolling for Bernie voters if Hillary is the nominee.

I'm no fan of Trump, but I think about 75% of the BS he's peddling on the right is just another script. If he's the nominee he'll juggle that BS with new BS because the only thing that matters is the Trump ego and the ultimate win.