Patterico's Pontifications

4/16/2011

Mark Levin on Why Trump Is the Worst Candidate Ever

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 12:07 pm



Regular readers know I am no fan of Mark Levin — mainly because he engaged in an attack campaign against me that included several falsehoods and a generally juvenile tone. However, he can be an effective communicator when he sticks to the facts, and that’s what he does in this well-organized and effective rant about Donald Trump.

Highlights include Trump’s donations to cretins like Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton; his statements that Bush was evil and should have been impeached; his praise for Obama as someone with a chance to be thought of as one of the best presidents in history; and his support for universal health care.

It’s almost unbelievable that Levin would find this worth his time, but I guess when a poll (granted, one from PPP) puts Trump 9 points ahead of every other Republican candidate — and when he’s threatening to be a spoiler a la Ross Perot — you gotta take him out. Levin does so with facts — mainly by playing one clip of Trump after another.

No self-respecting Republican could possibly listen to this and continue to support Trump.

77 Responses to “Mark Levin on Why Trump Is the Worst Candidate Ever”

  1. his praise for Obama as someone with a chance to be thought of as one of the best presidents in history

    Though to be fair, this was a true statement at the time… ALL Presidents have that same chance.

    That Obama has failed miserably to live up to that doesn’t change that – even if we knew the odds of it happening were slim to none.

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  2. My opinion from watching Trump and his bankruptcies in the 1980s is that he is a sleazy business operator, not worthy of trust. I cannot ever envision supporting him for president no matter who is on the other ticket.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  3. Scott,

    If you watch the clip, in context, Trump is going further. I didn’t go back to get the exact words but it’s clear support for Obama.

    Granted, he has now backed off of that support. But the idea that he ever said it is remarkable. This was not a statement in support of civility or against demonization — it was praise for Obama’s POLICIES. Just incredible.

    Patterico (c218bd)

  4. “Trump had switched to the Democratic Party from the Republican Party in 2001 and again registered as a Republican in 2009.[66] Trump said in an interview in 2007, “I’m very much independent in that way. I go for the person, not necessarily the party. I mean, I vote for Republicans and I vote for Democrats.”[67]”

    “Since the 1990 U.S. elections, Trump contributed to the campaigns of both Republicans, such as John McCain, Rudolph Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, and George W. Bush[68] and such Democratic Party candidates as Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Tom Daschle, Joe Biden, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel, Hillary Clinton, Anthony Weiner, Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Charles Rangel.”–wiki

    Trump is a ruthless opportunist, essentially devoid of any principles. His politics are as fungible as it gets, and his word ain’t worth a plugged nickle. He makes noises about being a right winger at the same time he’s handing out money to guys like Reid, Clinton, Kerry and Clinton? Spare me.

    Trump is a dirtbag in his personal life, his business life, and in his political life. I wouldn’t support this tit if you held a loaded .45 to my head.

    Dave Surls (6c2015)

  5. I am thrilled for the press to have someone to concentrate on for a while. The longer the pressure is off the GOP to have “real” candidates, the better. Think about how silly the last election got, mostly because reporters were bored and needed to stir up s**t. With Trump, they get to stir away without it hurting whoever will be the real nominee.

    MayBee (081489)

  6. Plus, I’m happy to let Obama’s oppo research people spend their money on things like getting information on Trump’s divorces and the cost of his haircuts.

    MayBee (081489)

  7. “the cost of his haircuts.”

    MayBee – Whatever it is, he’s paying too much.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  8. I have one question. How many collies died so that Trump may have that head of hair?

    http://angry.net/blog2/?p=3833

    evilned (b16fde)

  9. You can’t take Trump out I don’t think unless Team R produces a candidate what’s not a whorish Pawlenty Romney Huckabee type.

    Team R has invited a third party candidate to the race by offering dismal dork candidates what pander cowardly just like the last pandering coward they nominated, the one the voters emphatically rejected.

    Team R needs to substantially raise the level of their game before they can make a credible case against Trump.

    It’s very sad.

    happyfeet (a3410c)

  10. He hasn’t been at forefront of the battles against Obama, when it counted, in fact he supported the
    adversaries of that contest.

    superman returns (8a8b93)

  11. Mr. Feets – I disagree. The Donald just wants attention. Plus Team D has got to love him, living in New York, The Donald has got to love him some fetus killing.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  12. I thought Mr. Donald had decided he was pro-life it was on Drudge

    happyfeet (a3410c)

  13. I should note that Christoph has been rebanned. He was constantly bringing up an issue with another blogger and would not let it go. Then, when I published his comments that did not relate to that issue, but trashed those that did, he claimed I was trying to suppress his commentary regarding that issue, when in fact I am just tired of the issue and had asked him and everyone else several times to let it go.

    Far from letting it go, he found numerous ways to allude to the issue in supposedly subtle and cutesy little ways.

    The best solution is to moderate all his comments. So that is what I am doing.

    Patterico (c218bd)

  14. Mr. Feets – Who knows, he moves his positions around. From my perspective he seems to fit well with the Team D holy sacraments of abortion, atheism and sodomy. YMMV.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  15. “he claimed I was trying to suppress his commentary regarding that issue”

    Playing the victim card – I did not say that, you misunderstood me, I did not mean that – is one of Christoph’s favorite tactics, the supercilious buttwipe.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  16. Is Trump focusing on the fraudulent drilling moratorium, or the disastrous QE 2, or the idiocy of the takeover of GM, no he throws out half baked ‘birther crap’ laughing all the way to the bank

    narciso (8a8b93)

  17. Ah — but who do we want the liberals and socialists (yes, I repeat myself) to be wasting their ammo on? The Donald makes an excellent decoy duck.

    starboardhelm (e93080)

  18. Good work by Levin. But am I the only one who thinks that a third party run by Trump would result in a net gain for the GOP?

    bskb (3a53fe)

  19. I’m suspicious of Trump based upon his prior statements, his campaign donations and his chief aide who is a Democratic activist per the press. If he runs he will pretty much guarantee President Obama a second term. Watching him and reading him over the years it seems to me that “The Donald” is in it for what’s best for “The Donald.” That makes me wonder what’s in it for “The Donald” if he runs and gets Obama re-elected? The Democrats and especially Obama are known for pay to play and rewarding the people who help them. The MSM will never ever look into this aspect.

    airedale (af02dd)

  20. I don’t recall where, but someone recently said the reason Trump is doing well in the polls is that he is the only one who is willing to play smash mouth politics against Obama. I certainly will not be supporting Trump if he is still around in the primary, but until then, I am happy to watch him go after Obama. His willingness to hit Obama on the Birther stuff is something no serious candidate will be able to do politically, so it’s good that Trump is out there taking those shots that nobody else can.

    Anon Y. Mous (276755)

  21. donald trump nothing
    but nasty unbridled greed
    with a comb-over

    ColonelHaiku (28f4a1)

  22. What kind of a man is The Donald?

    Just ask his ex-wives.

    AD-RtR/OS! (be87c2)

  23. but colonel must add
    he’d pay much cash to watch him
    mud wrestle Rosie

    ColonelHaiku (28f4a1)

  24. jeez no one tells me anything did we know Oliver Stone had a kid? For reals he’s a “historian” and he has nice teeth and douche hair. But he seems like a very nice and intelligent and sane person except for he’s sort of an actor, kind of.

    happyfeet (a3410c)

  25. oh I forgot to link here is the Stone kid with his historian hat on talking about the Fed in only vaguely conspiratorial terms

    happyfeet (a3410c)

  26. Evidently, Trump was a REGISTERED DEMOCRAT until very recently.

    Nobody could seriously believe Trump is a conservative.

    He may run, though I suspect he won’t, but he will do everything to gin up as much publicity for himself as possible.

    In the end, Trump is in this for Trump and he mostly cares about Trump…

    WarEagle (2ca889)

  27. I’d never vote for Trump, but one good thing he is doing is showing the Repubs how to win respect by showing courage instead of doing the typical Republican “wimpy dance”.

    Wild Bill for America (148fa7)

  28. Trump – so fashionably for it, before he was against it:

    “We must have universal healthcare,” wrote Trump. “I’m a conservative on most issues but a liberal on this one. We should not hear so many stories of families ruined by healthcare expenses.”

    Let’s be like Canada: “Doctors might be paid less than they are now, as is the case in Canada, but they would be able to treat more patients because of the reduction in their paperwork.”

    The Canadian plan also helps Canadians live longer and healthier than Americans. There are fewer medical lawsuits, less loss of labor to sickness, and lower costs to companies paying for the medical care of their employees. If the program were in place in Massachusetts in 1999 it would have reduced administrative costs by $2.5 million. We need, as a nation, to reexamine the single-payer plan, as many individual states are doing.

    He’s a fun distraction providing a look at what it is to have an eccentric individual believing in his fantastical dream of becoming a viable candidate and saying whatever the hell he wants.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  29. ________________________________________

    Though to be fair, this was a true statement at the time… ALL Presidents have that same chance.

    No one who had even a cursory awareness of Obama’s ultra-liberal, “goddamn America” background — his relationship with people like Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, etc — could have possibly wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt or believe he’d be anything than a Third-Worldish leader. So until I saw the links at the Drudgereport highlighting Trump’s previous statements about Bush and Obama, I didn’t realize just how unreliable Trump was.

    Not sure if his living in the middle of Limousine Liberal Land (ie, Manhattan) has impaired his judgment and wisdom through the years — although I’m sure that hasn’t helped — but whatever has swayed his perceptions, I’d say “The Donald” overall is no more than a super ego-driven, volatile opportunist.

    Stick with your “Apprentice” TV show, Donald, and leave the White House to someone who’s less of a chameleon and publicity hound.

    Mark (411533)

  30. “We must have universal healthcare,” wrote Trump. “I’m a conservative on most issues but a liberal on this one. We should not hear so many stories of families ruined by healthcare expenses.”

    Story indeed, in fact, a tall tale.

    Much like “over-crowded hospital emergency rooms” that bankrupt hospitals with the uninsured … the same ERs running $5,000 per month billboards in all major markets notifying folks of low wait times.

    Cuz ya know they are really crowded and don’t want those “unprofitable” uninsured to know they are open for business or have great service.

    Ha…. Health Care and Global Warming will go down as the most idiotic (“flawed”) public policy debates of the Post War Period.

    And Trump ate the dog food twice — so much for brains.

    Torquemada (fccc6f)

  31. The far-left nazis would be pleased to see universal healthcare taking affect and their far-lefty cronies in austria are no doubt happy as well.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  32. That is Trumps hair?

    huh.

    I thought it was implants gone wild, botoxed into place.

    Shows what I know…

    I’m glad to see someone call Obama incompetent on the public stage… that is how low the bar is set.

    SteveG (cc5dc9)

  33. I just love Donald Trump.
    I won’t vote for he (unless Obama is the alternative), but to see the Democrats waste their money and effort in order to bring down the “Don” is just perfect for this “throw away candidate.”

    Neo (03e5c2)

  34. No self-respecting Republican could possibly listen to this and continue to support Trump.

    No self-respecting turd maggot could support Trump in the first place.

    Whatever polls claim Trump is in the lead are polls of lined-up Trump payoffs waiting their turn to answer.

    IgotBupkis, President, United Anarchist Society (c9dcd8)

  35. I like Trump in the sense that he is audacious not in hope, but blessed all-American capitalism. He really doesn’t care much about anything but Trump.

    That is not a bad thing. His self-interest generates a lot of money and a lot of jobs. You could say the same about Oprah.

    However, I would never vote for him for any elective office, because of the reasons outlined above.

    Don’t get me wrong. I think that committed capitalists in government are a good thing. However Trump’s commitment to capitalism seems to drift with the political winds. I have never seen any evidence to his commitment to conservatism.

    And that seems to be the case with a lot of right-wing candidates, hence the lack of a compelling candidate.

    Except one. And I don’t think she can be elected.

    Ag80 (6134b7)

  36. I contradicted myself. I should have said Trump is a committed capitalist as long as capitalism continued to benefit him.

    Ag80 (6134b7)

  37. I have one question. How many collies died so that Trump may have that head of hair?

    Not enough. Ya sure they weren’t poodles?

    Smock Puppet (c9dcd8)

  38. Trump is a committed capitalist

    That’s a lie! Trump has never been institutionalized! Just because he ACTS nuts doesn’t mean he’s not fully capable of hiring doctors and attorneys who will keep him out of institutions.

    Smock Puppet (c9dcd8)

  39. I, too, was at first beguiled by the tabula rasa that Obama presented, and was willing to see in him hope for a reasonable Democrat administration. Going into 2008 I thought that if it came down to Obama v McCain I’d seriously consider supporting Obama. That was before I found out about Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers and Rashid Khalidi and all his other unsavoury connections. Ironically, what sealed it for me was his very eloquent speech when the Wright connection first became an issue, in which he excused Wright as the crazy uncle, and in the process denounced his grandmother as a racist for being afraid of a black punk who had menaced her, saying Wright was no worse than that. After that I couldn’t see any good in him.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  40. It may be hard to believe, but I too held out hope about what Obama could be, up until I found out the story of his background. The media pulled off an interesting hat trick, on the one hand, they said his community organizing record, entitled him to the presidency, but didn’t actually deign to investigate what that record entailed, and vouchedfor him anyways.

    narciso (8a8b93)

  41. The fact that big businessmen tend not to be committed to capitalism has been noted as long ago as Adam Smith. Ayn Rand delved into the psychology of the businessman whose livelihood depends on capitalism, and who ought to champion it, but who has absorbed the anti-capitalist philosophy of his intellectual “betters”, and therefore feels guilty about his own money-making, and seeks to atone for it by supporting socialist causes. But Smith merely observed that just because someone is making money from free trade now doesn’t mean he won’t stoop to making money from the political process (i.e. state coercion) if he can. Capitalism produces results that benefit the consumer, which is all of us; producers will naturally be tempted by any scheme to distort and pervert or outright suppress the market in their favour, at the expense both of the public and their competitors. Government needs to ignore and resist any such schemes, as against the interest of the general public.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  42. I really don’t care about where the President was born. However, I would be very interested in other documents regarding his education, et al.

    I mean we had to be subjected to many accounts of W’s misdeeds and hidden past, real and made-up. Even Laura’s unfortunate car accident kept the left going forever.

    Why the heck not for O? Just for the sake of tabloids and TMZ.

    Ag80 (6134b7)

  43. Well, of course I care where he was born. If by some astoundingly improbable chance it turns out that he really was born in Kenya — or, a bit more reasonably, in Canada — I want to know that, and I would want him to resign or be impeached. And I’m appalled at the loophole that’s been exposed by his having achieved the presidency while refusing to prove his eligibility. That has to be closed before someone who is ineligible waltzes through it.

    But at the end of the day I believe he was almost certainly born in the USA, and therefore eligible, and my main reason for wanting to see his records is the very fact that he’s so adamant about hiding them. He’s covering something up, and I want to know what it is. And I agree that he ought to suffer the same close scrutiny of his entire history that Bush suffered.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  44. Trump is a totally goofy candidate. However, he is performing a service for other GOP candidates here. He is drawing Obama off the ropes and softening him up for a real candidate. Obama cannot resist punching back at anyone, anyone who slights him, and already has answered Trump. Punching down. It will be his undoing (I hope).

    Patricia (0131bf)

  45. Trump is a crony captialist.

    Also believes in raising taxes on the rich to pay off the debt.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  46. “We must have universal healthcare,” wrote Trump. “I’m a conservative on most issues but a liberal on this one. We should not hear so many stories of families ruined by healthcare expenses.”

    Yeah, becuase it’s just so much better for America if families are ruined by eminent domain actions brought against them by Donald Trump.

    Can’t stand this fat hypocrite. He’s as bad as the liberals.

    Maybe worse.

    Dave Surls (21639e)

  47. But at the end of the day I believe he was almost certainly born in the USA, and therefore eligible, and my main reason for wanting to see his records is the very fact that he’s so adamant about hiding them. He’s covering something up, and I want to know what it is.

    Indeed.

    Patterico (c218bd)

  48. I oppose abortion in the case of rape honestly you should give up the child for adoption.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  49. And that’s relevant to this thread because…

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  50. Live birth #_____ .

    Watch it be something that backfires-like he was protecting mom, or he was adopted and didn’t know it.

    You know that old adage….

    There’s something Briar rabbit about it.

    Obama's Teleprompter (fd190b)

  51. You know this is strictly for the rubes, right?

    Trump had a book coming out the last time he “ran” for president.

    What’s he peddling this time?

    Fritz (ac48cc)

  52. Though to be fair, this was a true statement at the time… ALL Presidents have that same chance.

    That Obama has failed miserably to live up to that doesn’t change that – even if we knew the odds of it happening were slim to none.

    I think I disagree. It may be more like someone about to roll a die, except you don’t know the number of faces it has. Sure, to your knowledge, any result is “possible”–say, a 6–but in reality, the guy may be rolling a 4-sided die, in which case a 6 isn’t possible.

    Whether or not it could have actually come to pass that Obama would be thought of as one of the best Presidents of all time…”I don’t know” is not the same as “it’s possible.”

    CliveStaples (586d44)

  53. Trump is a smart guy and a capitalist, but not to be trusted beyond the point where your interests diverge from his own.

    Hey, I’m for “universal health care” too! I think everyone should have health care – I just don’t think there is a legitimate government role in it.

    As far as the “birther” stuff, it’s a losing issue to pursue. There are any number of reasons NOT to reelect Obama, and the election will come before the fight over any birth certificate problems could be resolved. I suspect he was born here, but Obama, Sr. wasn’t listed as his father. If the guy never adopted him, and he never legally changed his name, then he’s been using a phony name, which would be pretty embarrassing.

    Estragon (ec6a4b)

  54. Self-respecting Republican? (spits in dirt) Why shucks, son, there’s your problem. Anyone with self-respect left the GOP during the Bush 43 disaster.

    dr kill (06b97e)

  55. Also Trumps “pitbull” is Mark Cohen a registered Democrat who voted for Barack Hussein Obama in 2008. It appears that Donald Trump is running defense for Barack Hussein Obama and the Democrats and not FOR saving the United States of America!

    http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/16/donald-trumps-political-pit-bull-meet-michael-cohen/

    JadedByPolitics (d652e9)

  56. “Anyone with self-respect left the GOP during the Bush 43 disaster.”

    Yeah?

    I’d rather have a Bush 43 non-disaster than an actual Jeff Davis disaster, a FDR disaster or a JFK/LBJ disaster.

    Of course, I don’t expect anyone with self-respect to leave the Jim Crow Party, because they wouldn’t be in it, if they had any self-respect to begin with.

    Dave Surls (7fb964)

  57. Trump, Perot. Why can’t these egomaniacal richboy nutjobs who think President of the United States is an entry level position go pick on the Democrats?

    C. S. P. Schofield (8b1968)

  58. OTOH, Cain doesn’t seem like a nutjob. And “entry level”?! None of these people are at entry level! Are you suggesting that a successful career in the real world is less relevant than a decade or so in a cushy job like the Senate?

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  59. Cain, is good, the idiots in the Georgia state party picked Isakson, the splunge candidate instead

    narciso (8a8b93)

  60. Milhouse,

    I’m saying that decades of running a business where your word is law because you own the company is markedly different from working in any level of representative government where you have to do a LOT more horsetrading. Neither Perot nor Trump have a reputation for ‘playing well with others’. If these ambitious Playboys would get at least a few years as Mayor somewhere under their belts, I would be a lot happier with them.

    I’m not a huge fan of ‘bipartisan’ – especially when it is used to mean that one side agrees to do what the other side wants in return for a few fig leaves – but the President does need to be able to at least cajole members of his own party into doing what he wants.

    The Democrats are cursed with professional ‘activists’ like Nader, so I guess I shouldn’t bitch TOO much.

    *sigh*

    C. S. P. Schofield (8b1968)

  61. There are lots of ways in which government is different from business. Which is why experience as a mayor or governor is vital for a president, just so you know how it’s done. But successfully running a business for a long time is a lot more relevant than being a legislator.

    Mostly, though, I reject the term “entry level”, which makes it sound as though these people had been wasting their time until now, doing things beneath notice. That attitude did a lot to turn me off McCain. Even now I’m not really convinced McCain would have been a better president than the current occupant.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  62. Palin, Huckabee and now Trump.

    The GOP needs to be put out of its sufferings.

    NOW.

    Zoubida (0692b1)

  63. Levin misses the point completely. Trump’s appeal comes from his willingness to address the questions the GOP candidates are too cowardly to talk about. We are sick of INSIDER politics. So while Levin is dwelling on the past, we are focusing on the here and now. Don’t like Trump fine, now find us someone we can rally around and know that he or she has our back.

    Wayne (b37235)

  64. “zoubida” is an imbecile. Objectively.

    JD (318f81)

  65. Trump is to conservatism as elephants are to rhythmic gymnastics.

    JD (318f81)

  66. Trump has been funding the insiders, with Schumer and Rangel, and Reid, trying to seize properties
    by imminent domain, trafficking in the big lie against our troops, yes he nominally supported McCain, but in the end, went whole hog for Obama,

    narciso (8a8b93)

  67. Zoubida is killing Gaia.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  68. I think it’s impossible to determine how many Republicans are actually “supporting” Trump, based on what are essentially straw-polls among fanatic types of the same sort that give Ron Paul high numbers. These rankings DO NOT translate into primary votes.

    Icy Texan (b246e1)

  69. Zou-Zou-Zoubida!

    Icy Texan (b246e1)

  70. Comment by Zoubida — 4/17/2011 @ 10:35 am

    When you leave, our sanity shall be restored.

    AD-RtR/OS! (0d97a0)

  71. I just watched Palin’s Madison speech, and recommend it to everybody. Still no idea whether she’s running, but if she does “Fight like a girl” will make a great slogan! Other than that, my favourite line from the speech was “We’re here, we’re clear, get used to it”. As Glenn would say, “heh”.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  72. The GOP needs to be put out of its sufferings.

    “zoubida” is advocating for the killing or euthanasia of people that do not share it’s political point of view. /spit

    JD (318f81)

  73. Wayne, what questions would those be? The intriguing but not very relevant birth certificate question? What else is Trump asking that genuine leaders like Palin, Daniels, Barbour, Pawlenty, etc. are not?

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  74. Trump isn’t a candidate, he’s a stalking horse, and a damn good one.

    ropelight (30d736)

  75. No more celebrity presidents. Ever!
    OTOH, it is “yooooge” fun to watch him roll right over the leftist rubes and whores in the media. He’s getting appreciation points for that in the polls right now but settle down because it will pass.

    AMartel (88c646)

  76. “Mostly, though, I reject the term “entry level”, which makes it sound as though these people had been wasting their time until now, doing things beneath notice. That attitude did a lot to turn me off McCain. Even now I’m not really convinced McCain would have been a better president than the current occupant.”

    Milhouse,

    I heartily agree with you about McCain; both candidates last time around scared the sh*t out of me. Both struck me as unlikely to take Islamic Terrorism seriously. Both struck me as having the kind of ego that reacts badly to being embarrassed. Obama impressed me as knowing little or nothing about the use of military force. McCain had cultivated a reputation for being a ‘maverick’, which implies a tendency to shoot from the hip. I fully expected (and still do) a major terror attack on the U.S. (the fuel-air bombing of Detroit figures in my nightmares) followed by a Ego-Bruised President turning the Arabian Peninsula into a large sheet of glass, followed by a couple of centuries of repercussions. Nasty ones.

    As to the term ‘entry level’, I do not insist on it, I simply thought it fitted men who wish to anoint themselves with the very top executive/political position in the country without having held any lesser ones.

    C. S. P. Schofield (8b1968)


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