The pledge includes a clause saying that the candidate will support the eventual GOP nominee.

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[–] 156 points 3 years ago (8 children)

I will never, ever understand how the entire Republican party lined up behind this guy.

Before Trump was elected, they were all vocal about how unfit he was. Too stupid. Too rude.

Then he got the nomination, and they all bent the knee, and became so loyal to him that they protected him from facing the consequences of his insurrection, even when he put their lives in danger.

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  • [–] 60 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    They hate libs so much they will fall in line behind anyone.

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  • [–] 22 points 3 years ago*

    Well, he became the guy who would sign their shitty legislation, appoint right-wing judges and other officials to long-term positions, undermine regulators, spread fascist propaganda amplified by the power of the presidency, etc. The person with the R next to their name opens the doors for the flood of partisan garbage and shuts down those pesky people who want things like "democracy" and "tap water that doesn't poison my family."

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  • [–] 14 points 3 years ago

    The people who were criticizing Trump in the beginning were the ones with brains, that had gotten to the top to exploit power. They're smart enough to know not to fight against the mob that is their support base. But also stupid enough to bring in someone that can rile up the mob better than they could.

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  • [–] 11 points 3 years ago

    Power. Plain and simple.

    He did exactly what republicans wanted to do just he kept saying the quiet part loud. Now they are stuck. He is a result of decades of right wing talk radio and tv telling people everyone who disagrees is a satan worshipping pedophile. I fear he wont be the worst though

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    [–] 106 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    This is great news IMO

    He'll run on his own Freedom Party ticket and we'll get a 3-party election. Oh no, now the rightwing votes are split. Bummer!

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  • [–] 51 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Much more likely at this point that he just wins the nomination. There is still time for that to change, but nothing that indicates that it will.

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  • [–] 21 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    The GOP is in a terrible state

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  • [–] 23 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    We all know they're in Mississippi, but there are chapters in some good states, too.

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  • [+] 90 points 3 years ago (6 children)
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    [–] 75 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    Trump is loyal to no one but himself. Even if he did sign it he would never honor it.

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    [–] 47 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Wow, so the shit show begins even before we had even one gop debate. Article states you can't participate if you don't sign the pledge to support the eventual nominee.

    This is going to be really interesting....

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  • [–] 43 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Cue rally where he claims "they unfairly banned me from participating"

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  • [–] 11 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Where does this leave somebody like Chris Christie, who wants to debate, but has also been fervently outspoken against Trump. There’s no way he would support Trump should he become the nominee. Perhaps he has to just fade away at that point.

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  • [–] 19 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    They were all against him in 2016 too. Until they weren't.

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    [–] 39 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Of course not, he has no intention of debating. He'll say the rules are unfair and people are being mean to him.

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    [–] 37 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    A substantial fraction of their base is his cult now, and the Republicans know that they cannot win without his support. Ultimately they will bow to his will because the parts of the party which have not been utterly brainwashed realize that it is currently their only path to victory, no matter how distasteful that is.

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    [–] 36 points 3 years ago (5 children)
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    [–] 27 points 3 years ago
    [–] 27 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    “I wouldn’t sign the pledge,” Trump told host Eric Bolling. “They want you to sign a pledge, but I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president. So right there there’s a problem."

    Is this all that's in the pledge? To support the nominee? I mean, if I were Christie or any other candidate, I wouldn't sign a pledge to potentially support Trump.

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    [–] 22 points 3 years ago

    Please run as a separate candidate and dilute the R vote. Fuckin please give the Dems the easiest possible win.

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  • [–] 22 points 3 years ago (6 children)

    How many times you think this guy will run for president? If he loses again, will he just keep running until he is dead?

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    [+] 21 points 3 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
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    [–] 17 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Your two party system is shit and everyone should be trying their hardest to force something else like STV.

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    [–] [B] 16 points 3 years ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he would not sign a loyalty pledge required by the Republican National Committee for participation in the first GOP debate this month.

    During the interview, Trump also said he would announce next week whether he will participate in the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, though a refusal to sign the loyalty pledge would make him ineligible under the RNC's criteria.

    The loyalty pledge also asks candidates to agree not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate for the remainder of the election cycle.

    Trump, Christie and Hutchinson are among at least eight candidates who appear to have met the donor and polling thresholds required to participate in the debates.

    Former Vice President Mike Pence was the latest candidate to announce he had qualified for the debate, which will be hosted by Fox News.

    NBC News reported in June that Trump was exploring potential counterprogramming during the first debate, according to people familiar with his deliberations.


    I'm a bot and I'm open source!

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  • [–] 16 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    I mean, I can't say I disagree with him at all in this case. Loyalty pledges are fucked.

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    [–] 16 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Nice bit of schadenfreude, since there's no primary without Trump, and Trump is almost certain to lose in another general. In the immortal words of Lindsay Graham from 2016, "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed. And we will deserve it."

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  • [–] 40 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (5 children)

    He is absolutely not certain to lose. If he runs on the GOP ticket, we have every reason to believe that it will be close, and whether it is or not, the GOP will lie, cheat, and resort to violence in order to win, disrupt the process, or, barring either, overthrow the government. The Biden slam dunk narrative is a GOP talking point designed to get needed Blue voters to stay home. The Republic is absolutely at stake, and that means everyone needs to take it seriously.

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  • [–] 15 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    Trump will only support a candidate who will pardon him, and maybe give him "an awesome job", like a diplomatic mission with diplomatic immunity. Saudi Arabia or some other rich kleptocracy, though, not just any s***hole country. Promising to support just any schmo, beforehand? There is no upside for Trump on that one.

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    [+] 12 points 3 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)
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