comment: >
  
  Trump's problem wasn't a lack of Republican love, it's that everybody who isn't a Republican despises him and turns out to vote against him.
context: I'm pretty sure the only thing Trump knows how to do is garner attention and grift people. >
  
  I see this as a threat. If the Republicans don't nominate him he'll run as a independent and tank the Republicans. He's trying to leverage his way back into the protection of the Republicans.
  I already have a $100 bet on this exact scenario playing out with the Democrats winning the Presidency in 2024. >
  
  It is a threat.  He wants a flat playing field in the primary.  Everyone from Mitch McConnell to Kanye West wants Trump gone.  He rattles the 1950s, high road McConnell types and he goes as hard at the democratic party as they do at him.  
  When politics is as charged it was in the Trump presidency, with non stop leaks, investigations and impeachments, two party democracy is working.  The parties need to check the shit out of each other, then no one gets away with anything.  That's how I want it to be. >
  
  The republicans do nothing but vote no and give money to the rich and corporations. And Say Hunter biden or pelosi >
  
  This is like a fifth-grade understanding of the Republican Party. 
  Here’s some context: 
  In my city/county, the Democrats have raised property taxes 15% over the last year in tandem with property assessments that are ludicrously overestimated. They are now raising the sales tax 1% too, to a total of nearly 10%. These politicians are utterly fleecing residents while, at the same time, the city is grappling with a historic shortage of police officers and public employees. Our streets are in disrepair. Our community is not safe. Our school budget was cut. 
  Meanwhile, there’s been a shit load of new “consultants” hired by my city. We have a chief diversity officer reporting to the mayor. We have a chief resilience officer. We have a chief equity officer. All these people are making over 150k a year to do fuck all but campaign while my city services get worse and my taxes go up. Oh, and the council passed a statute to create a monopoly on our trash collection in order to create “efficiency.” It’s probably a total coincidence that a councilman’s family owns that business and my trash rates are ballooning. 
  Do you understand how your conclusion about Republicans giving tax breaks to the rich might not necessarily resonate with someone like me when I’m being robbed by the Democratic Party in my town?
  Edit: Reddit hivemind, I withdraw. Please encourage your politicians to consider  a 100% tax rate so that we can live in a communist utopia! >
  
  Who hell do you think cut the education system? I’ll give you three guesses…. >
  
  Oh, I can answer this! The Democrats. The cut came this fiscal year. Last I checked, Republicans do not have a majority on the city council or school board here. 
  Was that the answer you were looking for? >
  
  The cut to education has been happening since the bush administration but you can try again
  Like you really that this current year’s cut has made an impact on the decline on our education system that we’ve been seeing for 20 years? >
  
  It's mostly attention seeking, and partly a threat to the GOP. 
  If Trump wants to make a serious run as a third party candidate in 2024, there are moves he needs to be making now-- recruiting staff and volunteers, then taking over one of the existing third party organizations or collecting thousands of signatures in each state where he wants to get on the ballot. 
  It doesn't look like Trump is working on any of those third party prep steps. >
  
  I think he still believes he can win the GOP nomination.  He knows he has no path to victory as a third-party candidate, so he is not looking for it as a first option.  But if Trump loses the GOP nomination, he is petty enough to play the spoiler candidate.
  Running as a third-party candidate would also keep his campaign going as long as possible.  That would mean additional millions in campaign contributions and/or money laundering. >
  
  
  I think he still believes he can win the GOP nomination.
  
  He doesn't really have any reason to believe that he won't, everybody hated him last time and then everybody fell in line one after another. >
  
  Trump controls the rural votes.  I still see pickup trucks driving around with Trump flags.  Haven’t seen a single pickup truck with a Desantos flag.  I still read interviews from rural town folk who are still buying what Trump rallies are selling.