Trump campaign chair: We’ll pick a white man for VP. Anything else would be “pandering.”

[William R]

Actually white men makeup 40+ percent of the population. Ethnic bean counters don't include anyone with a Hispanic last name. Cruz and Rubio fore example

 

[CPUd]

Well, everyone on all sides can certainly speculate to their hearts' content, because the quote was:

An isolated sentence fragment!

In the context of:

No context whatsoever!

In response to:

A totally unknown question or statement!

This situation is ideal to give everyone as free a hand as possible to speculate to the max! Spin! Condemn! Defend! It's a Rorschach. The responses to it say more about what is going on in the responder's head than what's going on in Paul Manafort's, much less his candidate's, given that the statement was almost totally devoid of informational content.

All he had to do was say they will pick the best person for the job, but he knew that wouldn't get headlines.

I'd say he got the desired effect:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...anafort-woman-minority-vp-pandering/84965336/
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presi...wont-pick-woman-minority-vp-viewed-pandering/
http://fusion.net/story/307003/trump-vp-running-mate-white-men-pandering/
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/26/politics/paul-manafort-donald-trump-vice-president/index.html
http://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf...expect-trump-pander-women-minorities-vp-pick/
...

 

[RandallFan]

Im more scared of Biden on the Dem ticket than Castro.

Biden is likeable. Castro and the Justice Department guy are not likeable.

The fat guy Bill Richardson might be a likeable candidate for the dems.


Linda McMahon, Pam Bondi & Betsy McCaughey might be close enough politically to Trump. McCaughey would have to find a residence in another state to run with Trump.

McMahon is running the only quasi-pop-culture, quasi-political, quasi-showman, quasi-trashtalk entertainment company that is similarly entertaining to Trump's outbursts.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

All he had to do was say they will pick the best person for the job, but he knew that wouldn't get headlines.

I'd say he got the desired effect

Well, I don't disagree that it certainly worked out great in terms of coverage. And it's possible you're right that Manafort is an incredible mastermind who deliberately manipulated the Huffington Post into helping his right-wing campaign. It's certainly a delightful piece of speculation, and what fun if you're right and this whole "scandal" is all according to Manafort's plan! Ha!

So I don't disagree with you. I'm just keeping things factual.

Considering the facts as I understand them, I personally think it's more likely that he said *lots* of things in a lengthy conversation with the Huffington honcho, and that the Huffington Post was on a mission (as always) to make anything right wing look bad, which in this case they did by wrenching something totally out of context. And unfortunately, as these things often do nowadays, the attempt backfired. Manafort couldn't control what they quoted, so it's unlikely he had a masterplan for this specific sentence fragment to go viral. But it's likely also true that he wasn't carefully guarding against making any statement that would sound bad out of context (using PC-speak, that is; which, in previous years and different campaigns would have been standard procedure), and so there may, in fact, have been many statements he made in the course of the conversation that could have been grist for the PC gotcha mill.

 

[juleswin]

Well, I don't disagree that it certainly worked out great in terms of coverage. And it's possible you're right that Manafort is an incredible mastermind who deliberately manipulated the Huffington Post into helping his right-wing campaign. It's certainly a delightful piece of speculation, and what fun if you're right and this whole "scandal" is all according to Manafort's plan! Ha!

So I don't disagree with you. I'm just keeping things factual.

Considering the facts as I understand them, I personally think it's more likely that he said *lots* of things in a lengthy conversation with the Huffington honcho, and that the Huffington Post was on a mission (as always) to make anything right wing look bad, which in this case they did by wrenching something totally out of context. And unfortunately, as these things often do nowadays, the attempt backfired. Manafort couldn't control what they quoted, so it's unlikely he had a masterplan for this specific sentence fragment to go viral. But it's likely also true that he wasn't carefully guarding against making any statement that would sound bad out of context (using PC-speak, that is; which, in previous years and different campaigns would have been standard procedure), and so there may, in fact, have been many statements he made in the course of the conversation that could have been grist for the PC gotcha mill.

Backfired in what sense? and to what audience? maybe in your small echo chamber it backfired but I don't think that is the case to the general audience. Personally, I think its a little too early to tell the ramifications of this viral news story about Trump, I think it will not backfire because people really take offense to slights against ones very nature.

Also Manafort could have easily controlled what they quoted, you do that by watching the words that come out of your mouth and by coming to a hostile website interview with your own recorder like the gun group did that got interviewed by Katie Couric. Lastly, the fact that he walked it back means that using PC speak is still standard procedure. If not, he wouldn't have walked anything back.

I know some people still have this mentality that any publicity is good publicity so all the negative stuff coming out about Trump can only help his campaign but its not true, some publicity can in fact damage you to the point of no return. All these small body hits Trump is taking daily will break him in the final rounds and I predict a clean knockout by Hillary in the general elections.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

Backfired in what sense? and to what audience? maybe in your small echo chamber it backfired but I don't think that is the case to the general audience.

What echo chamber, pray tell, do you imagine me to be in?

Please. I work for a living and have little time for echo chambers. I do occasionally think about politics and may continue to take time out to occasionally write you guys about it on this forum.

CPUd was the one saying that the lemon had turned to lemonade, all part of the plan of the mastermind brilliance of Paul Manafort.

Personally, I think its a little too early to tell the ramifications of this viral news story about Trump, I think it will not backfire because people really take offense to slights against ones very nature.

You could be right. Who can tell the future? I get the feeling you take offense to this statement, and that you feel that I am defending it. That would, understandably, make you upset and offended at me as well and start tossing terms at me like "echo chamber" and "small".

However, I am just pointing out the fact that it's a sentence fragment with no context. Just keeping the discussion grounded in the facts. This is, after all, a fact. This statement which has caused so much ruckus -- so much offense, you say; so much coverage, CPUd says -- is a sentence fragment with no context.

To the extent I have an opinion on it I'd like to "weigh in" with, it is this: people may be overreacting and drawing more conclusions than really can be supported from this snippet. Pro or con.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

All these small body hits Trump is taking daily will break him in the final rounds and I predict a clean knockout by Hillary in the general elections.

You have a lot more faith in the intelligence of the general electorate than I do.

 

[Suzu]

Who picked this trash to post?

RPFs' Chief Trump-Trasher, CPUd.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

RPFs' Chief Trump-Trasher, CPUd.

Because the local Trumpaloompas do not want the rest of RPF's to know that their guy is a raging copsucker.

 

[FindLiberty]

LOL

 

[TheCount]

Actually white men makeup 40+ percent of the population.

Nope, that would mean that the US was 80+ percent white. Nowhere near that high. Probably 30% or less.

 

[tod evans]

Nope, that would mean that the US was 80+ percent white. Nowhere near that high. Probably 30% or less.

Maybe where you live, my part of the US is 95-99% white.

If you spend your days watching the Tee-Vee or in cities that'd explain your perspective.

 

[TheCount]

Maybe where you live, my part of the US is 95-99% white.

If you spend your days watching the Tee-Vee or in cities that'd explain your perspective.

Normal America is not a small town of white people.

 

[tod evans]

Normal America is not a small town of white people.

My normal America is.

I didn't click your click-bait, do you have anything to say?

 

[TheCount]

My normal America is.

I didn't click your click-bait, do you have anything to say?

I mean, I can just spout demographics at you, but if you're not willing to read them, then it won't matter.

 

[tod evans]

I mean, I can just spout demographics at you, but if you're not willing to read them, then it won't matter.

Here's a relevant picture that supports my statement earlier;

 

[FindLiberty]

Trump reality TV special:

His top 10 "personally selected" finalists will compete LIVE as Trump grills
them on leadership, personality, tests IQ and evaluates their PR media skills),
but only one will become his VP!

Don't miss it

 

[cajuncocoa]

Trump reality TV special:

His top 10 "personally selected" finalists will compete LIVE as Trump grills
them on leadership, personality, tests IQ and evaluates their PR media skills),
but only one will become his VP!

Don't miss it

My husband joked about this too, early on in the campaign (we used to watch Celebrity Apprentice, but I don't think I could stomach it after this campaign.)

 

[jllundqu]

Why not just pick the best person for the job and don't GAF if they are red white black blue purple green, martian, or female?



What is being expressed here is an illogical and absurd leap of reason attempting to justify a real but unmentionable racial bias. What was said here could not have been said without working from a fundamental ontological assumption that whites and males will automatically be superior for the position, therefore the only reason to pick a minority or a female, is to pander. (not because they are the best qualified...that is left in the presumptive state of impossible by this argument)

So the speaker has to work from a presumption that it is impossible for a minority or a woman to be the best qualified, in order to state that the only reason to select a woman or a minority is pandering.

Everyone who knows me here knows that I do not fly off and gibber 'racism,' and I have barely said the word in re Trump except to describe some of the people that he attracts.

Now this statement in and of itself is pandering. It remains possible (probable?) that Trump Co means absolutely none of this disinformation. The statement itself is a pander to racists. It "identifies with their world" where blacks can't possibly be better. So maybe Manafort actually means what he said and has displayed a racial bias, or maybe Manafort is just pandering with this statement to reassure the people who DO have a racial bias, but either way this is one of the most obviously racially biased positions I have seen yet from Trump's camp. "Mexicans this and that" was really just hot noise. This statement, if issued in integrity, reveals a legitimate racial bias, and if issued as a pander, demonstrates a willingness to pander to the lowest common denominator.

100% agree. Why oh why can't we have someone just say that? "I will choose who I feel will do the best job regardless of race or gender or homestate, period." Show me that person and I'll start to listen. This "White Males Only" crap only feeds the narrative that Trump is joke.

 

[RandallFan]

No, I mentioned Walter Williams, and he would be over-the-top, mind-bogglingly terrific.

Ding, Ding, Ding! Of course, this is only true if you limit yourself to prominent statewide or national office-holders. Otherwise: Walter Williams! Larry Elder. Ken Hamblin. Etc.

Larry Elder has an arrogant smile & is to the far right of Trump on race issues.

Walter E Williams and Thomas Sowell sa I understand have stress problems or something like that.