The One Word That Could Take Down Trump (DKos)

[meow2u3]

That word is “coward.”

Democrats accuse him of lying. “Liar” is accurate, but Trump’s base doesn’t care. Nor do they care about his flip-flopping or pending lawsuits against him. Over and over, in interviews, his supporters say he is brave and courageous for taking on “the establishment.” As one of his campaign’s bumper stickers says, “Trump — the only candidate with balls.”

That perception of courage is what must be cracked. And here’s how.

Trump has not had the courage to release his tax returns. If the information in them matched all his bragging, then why would he hide them? Because he can’t take the heat of criticism or even tough questioning, that’s why, as he has demonstrated over and over during the past year of campaigning. He deflects his critics by hurling another insult or making another outrageous threat that sidetracks the media once again.

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/9/17/1571468/-The-One-Word-That-Could-Take-Down-Trump

Repeat after me: Trump. Is. A. Coward.

[uponit7771]

1. +1, coward or any intimation of it brings the most agro on mixed boards.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Add weakling to the mix...nt

[vlyons]

3. and if coward ain't enough, he's some synonyms ...

weakling, milksop, mouse, whimp, chicken, scaredy-cat, yellow-belly, sissy, baby, candy-ass, milquetoast.

[Plucketeer]

4. Wuss!

[stopwastingmymoney]

56. I like Phony. I think it also hits at a visceral level, nt

[lonestarnot]

64. lilly fucking liver.

[unblock]

5. loser is also accurate

and covers his bankruptcies and eventual electoral results as well.

[Farmgirl1961]

6. TRUMP THE COWARD

All bullies are cowards. Let's hope the Dems start using this tactic.

[JTFrog]

7. Someone here on DU today tried to say that terrorism was Drump's strong suit and Hillary's weakness.

Said she had the "wimp factor".

I was like....

That "wimp" killed bin Laden. All Drump has ever done is run his mouth and talk shit about our military and vets.



Trump is the biggest of cowards.

[Dem2]

8. He really IS a massive coward

fuctRump

[creoledna]

29. Couldn't agree more.....

This whole idea of both lying and being a coward can be easily explained by the nature of the lie. The difference between lying to protect ones image and charging someone else is where the "coward" shows up.
Bearing false witness is about lying about somebody else.

[calimary]

55. Welcome to DU, creoledna!

Yep, our boy Donald DOES INDEED fit the bill. Coward. AND Liar. Especially when he's lying about Hillary. But it's hard to tell, anymore, when he's being truthful. It happens rarely now.

[AgadorSparticus]

9. He is a liar and a con. He hasn't released his taxes because it is damning.

His stupid son admitted as much.

[Madam45for2923]

49. Right! He demands PBO to release his Birthcertificate and Sec Clinton release more medical

documents! but he acts like it's an affront to expect him to release his taxes or real medical documents from a real doctor!

And the Media let's this contradiction happen!

[2naSalit]

66. And he condemns

"political correctness" yet demands it for himself.

[Madam45for2923]

77. Yep!

Just an Abuser! That's what this person is! People that know abusers recognize all the signs!

[Paladin]

10. Good tactics. "Coward" will set him off, for sure. (nt)

[Madam45for2923]

11. Makes sense! Liars are cowards!

Last edited Mon Sep 19, 2016, 04:40 PM - Edit history (1)

A person of character & strength has no need to exaggerate or make up his /her accomplishments. Or lie about others to diminish their accomplishments.

[randome]

12. I think a good reporter ferreting out the truth about Meredith McIver could doom him, as well.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[Madam45for2923]

50. 12. I think a good reporter ferreting out the truth about Meredith McIver could doom him, as well.

Meredith McIver
?@MeredithMcTrump
We belive Meredith McIver worked for Trump in 2003, has been a ghost since.
John Miller-Barron reboot?

https://twitter.com/MeredithMcTrump/status/761647020889157632

[randome]

54. Exactly.

There may be a real person named Meredith McIver but there are many people with my real name, as well. And as Laura PourMeADrink pointed out, McIver is an ancestral name of Trump's: http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512350969

This would be a lie that could not possibly be refuted and would doom Trump, as well as take a lot of GOPers down with him.

Someone with investigative creds: please do us this favor.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[moonscape]

72. People are saying Trump had her murdered ...

we don't believe that, Trump, because we're sure you can produce her ... but people are sayin' ...

[EricMaundry]

13. Here

[EricMaundry]

14. And here

[FailureToCommunicate]

21. Yup!

[world wide wally]

43. Trump is giving draft dodgers a bad name

[FailureToCommunicate]

20. Pefect! AND the "hair"!

[Tanuki]

31. Perferct! Cowardly lyin'! eom

[hedda_foil]

41. #CowardlyLyin' is a spectacular combination!

[Bohunk68]

75. Bert Lahr would laugh his butt off on that one!

[Auggie]

15. I like "taxes" better

[Citrus]

16. A clear example...

A clear example of his cowardice is how he reacted when the pastor of the church in Flint asked him to stop the political speech. He caved, could barely even speak.

[link:http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2016/09/is_donald_trump_a_coward_criti.html|

[shenmue]

17. Yes

[SticksnStones]

18. I like this. Sharpen the focus so his simpleton base hears it

No need for synonyms.
Just coward. Over and over again.

Coward avoiding military service.
Coward about releasing his tax returns.
Coward when thinking of facing Anderson Cooper as a moderator.
Coward. One word. Like he did to Little Marco and Lying Ted.
Coward Donald.

'Liar' doesn't work. Most of his supporters would say sometimes you need to lie if it helps the bigger picture.

'Taxes' doesn't work. Most of his supporters think no one should pay taxes. Roads and schools and firemen just magically appear when you need them.

'Racist' or 'misogynist' doesn't work. Most of his supporters agree with his stances.

Coward. That's something that could paint him as an 'other'. His supporters wouldn't want to identify with that label.

Coward it is then.

[murray hill farm]

35. I really agree!

Keep it simple and powerful! Donald the coward!

[SticksnStones]

36. I don't use Twitter...anybody hashtagging #CowardDonald yet?

Adding in: CowardDonald, he hides behind pseudonyms when he hasn't got the guts to say it himself.

[TeamPooka]

71. yes, this too.

[Motley13]

19. 2 words

erectile dysfunction

[FailureToCommunicate]

22. Craven coward

[BlueStreak]

23. If the media won't report it that way, it doesn't work

He is the classic bully. The cowards are the media reporters. Sure, the media ownership wants a tight race so they can sell lots of ads. But it is a different dynamic on the reporter level. They are all scheming for how they can take the next stop up the career ladder. And they wet their pants around Trump. They are afraid of Trump singling them out as he has done so many times. So they just let him have all the free air time he wants with zero push-back.

For example, how many of the reporters were daily reporting Trump's meme about how Hillary had no formal press conferences in xxx days? Yet Trump has NEVER had a press conference where reporters are able to ask questions and get follow-ups. Not a single one even mentioned that when they were chiding Hillary for not having recent press conferences.

The "political class" deserves a lot of the blame for what has happened to the polls since the convention. Clinton's advisors are the most conventional, uninspired people out there. They were all taught in PolSci school that nothing important happens before Labor Day, so they were happy to give all of August to Trump. Big mistake.

Trump was at his lowest point on August 14 according to 538 -- and really his turnaround started around Aug 9. During that time, Hillary made almost no public appearances, and was mostly attending private fund raisers. Her advisers didn't learn a thing from the Obama campaigns where perception of momentum is equal to momentum. You need constant pictures of big excited crowds out there and it just did not happen in August for Hillary.

POTUS isn't completely lost now. With good debate performances that is still winable, but it appears the Senate is very unlikely now.

[Wednesdays]

45. Thank you for your concern.

Duly noted.

[BlueStreak]

46. Whose side are you on?

You may enjoy sitting in your basement making snide remarks while this election goes into the toilet, but I don't. We need a major change in strategy by the Clinton camp before it is too late.

[radius777]

65. Mostly agree.

Her campaign team (Podesta, Mook, Fallon etc) are just too conventional, wimpy and out of touch. There is no clear message or framing. They seem much more concerned with process (raising money, setting up offices, etc) than anything else. They don't fight back against right wing memes, which are allowed to make their way into the mainstream media. They rarely call out Trump's sexist dogwhistles.

Ultimately campaigns are about dominance, framing and emotion, and far less about logic and process. Voters look to see which candidate appears to be more confident, who fights back harder, who addresses their concerns directly - much more than they look at anything else. It is why Trump (a historically unqualified and unstable individual) was able to defeat a field of Republicans than included many far more qualified people. It is why he is still competitive in this general election.

Winning Dem campaigns, such as Bill Clinton's (Carville, Begala) and Obama's (Plouffe, Axelrod) were perceptive and sharp, tough and relentless. They framed the narrative and drove a strong message. They didn't allow attacks and insinuations to go unchallenged. They created enthusiasm by occasionally 'throwing red meat' to excite the base, while also putting forth a forward-looking vision that appealed to moderates and independents.

When Trump was self-destruting in August, Team H should've piled on, to guarantee there would be no chance he could recover. Instead they gave him the chance to right his ship, making this race closer than it needed to be.

[BlueStreak]

68. The Kerry strategy

"They don't fight back against right wing memes, which are allowed to make their way into the mainstream media. They rarely call out Trump's sexist dogwhistles."

This is a real difference in campaign people. And unfortunately, this is one of the most important decisions the candidate makes.

[griloco]

25. Putin fears tough Hillary; laughs at soft Trump

[bmstee01]

26. Someone find Post high of Trump jumping on secret service

[Rocknrule]

61. Trump's relationship with Putin (slightly NSFW):

[Helen Borg]

27. I thought you were referring to anti-semitic slurs or something.

[tclambert]

28. How about Trump releasing earlier year's tax returns? Or his New York State tax returns?

He always uses the excuse he won't release his most recent returns because he's under audit. That's irrelevant, of course. The real reason he won't release them is because he's too scared. The Clintons have released theirs all the way back to 1977. Why won't Donald release his 2014 returns, or 2013 returns, or other years? Because he's chicken. And his state returns aren't under audit at all. Does he have the balls to release them?

How about the Trump foundation? Release all the financial records there. The Clinton Foundation's activities have been scoured by the media. And they found the Clinton Foundation helps millions of people, and found no proof of pay for play activities. Can the Trump Foundation make the same claim and withstand the same level of scrutiny?

Since we're at it, while Trump's most deplorable fans chant, "Lock her up," Republicans have investigated and persecuted Hillary for something like 25 years, wasting millions of taxpayers dollars, and never found anything actionable. Meanwhile, Trump has had many court cases against him, has paid many fines, and has active court cases against him now. Hey, Donald, how about disclosing the details of all your legal problems? No? Too chicken again?


Who would have thought the woman candidate would be the only one with balls.

[Still In Wisconsin]

30. My dad (ex-U.S. Marine Corps and lifelong Democrat) calls Trump a "candy ass"

By this he means basically a pampered rich coward.

I think it fits.

[tavernier]

32. I think that would make a fitting bumper sticker. n/t

[tinrobot]

33. Bankruptcy is also a form of cowardice.

The man is not brave enough to face his creditors.

[lark]

34. Coward totally works in describing him.

Dems should use it every time they mention him, it's so totally true, He's terribly afraid he will lose the mouth breather class if they knew he's a total tax cheat, pays no taxes or almost none, heavily in debt to Russia and china, near bankruptcy etc, etc, He is a coward. they coukld also use wimp, that'd sting too.

[BamaRefugee]

37. Dogded the draft, dodges his taxes, on and on

DODGIN' DONALD!

[griloco]

38. oh and i thought he was a lion

[griloco]

39. You poor uninformed people!

   Trump served in Vietnam, albeit his own Vietnam, and emerged without neither scratch nor itch thus not receiving a Purple Prick Medal.

[progressoid]

51. What an ass.

God, I wish I hadn't watched that.

[griloco]

40. an early Trump video

[ginnyinWI]

42. Cowardly Donald! I like it. nt

[world wide wally]

44. Does Chicken Shit work?

[lunatica]

47. And calling him a coward also happens to be telling the truth

Because he is a coward not to release his taxes. He's a coward when he cows down to the Mexican President in person but then insults him in tweets and a speech on the very same day. He's a coward when he doesn't ever confront his enemies unless he's hiding behind a tweet. He's a coward when he's asked about some deplorable statement he makes about women, or vets, or Mexicans, or Muslims and then says how much he likes or loves them only to run to insult them all over again in a tweet.

He's a hit and run type of coward who hits people when they're not looking. He's a stab you in the back coward. He's a call the media up and whining coward rather than saying anything directly to them. He's a coward in a thousand things he does on a daily basis.

[scardycat]

48. Hillary has to use this word...

COWARD!! OMG that would do it!! If she says it enough it WILL stick!!!!!!!!

[The_Casual_Observer]

52. Trump's tactic of insulting his critics with meaningless

Jabs like "he's a clown" and so on instead of responding in a rational way shows cowardice as well.

[SomethingNew]

53. Quick question-

What is it you expect to see in his returns? Trump is not like the typical candidate in that his wealth is largely tied up in real estate. As a result, his tax returns could very easily show a small or even negative income without invalidating his claims. He obviously exaggerates his net worth but his tax returns would not show that. Of course, that wouldn't stop people - who don't know anything about how it works - from claiming that they do. Perhaps that's why he is so worried. It would harm his reputation with the masses because people wouldn't understand them.

Just to be clear, I think he should release them. I just don't understand the comment about them supporting his bragging.

[babylonsister]

57. I think he should show them

so questions like this wouldn't haunt him.

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/06/the-great-trump-tax-mysteries

The Great Trump Tax Mysteries: Is He Hiding Loopholes, Errors, or Something More Serious?

[SomethingNew]

58. Like I said,

it won't show anything at all about his true worth. I also think it is little more than wishful thinking if you think it will reveal any illegal activities. I'm sure it would show that he exploits every possible loophole but he'd probably tell you that himself if asked.

[mia]

59. Dastardly Donny

Repeat. Often.

[lastlib]

60. Trump. Is. A. Coward. (with little Hands.......)

[YOHABLO]

63. Vietnam: 4 deferments and a doctor's letter saying he had ''bone spurs" in both feet.

All the while in college playing sports that include: football, tennis, squash and golf. But of course his feet were too delicate and injured to do any ''marching'' around if he were in the Army. You think anyone will mention this during the debates? No way.

[BlueStreak]

69. Funny how he can be in perfect health 50 years later.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

62. +1000

[radius777]

67. Trump is a 'studio gangster'

also, 'internet tough guy' also 'keyboard warrior' i.e. his entire tough guy image is a fabrication.

Trump's framing from the beginning was 1)the world is going to hell 2)he is the tough guy who will 'do what needs to be done' that 'nicer/more qualified' people are unable or unwilling to do. IOW, like the hitman or mobster that is hired to 'take care of business' etc.

It's why none of the standard attacks against him work.

And it's why the way to beat Trump was to deconstruct this framing, by revealing him to be the insecure, fearful cowardly loser that he and his cowardly army of alt-right deplorables are.

[TeamPooka]

70. Trump. Is. A. Coward. nt

[Cobalt Violet]

73. Liz Warren called him a "pathetic coward" back in August.

He is very cowardly.

[Portland_Anni]

74. A walk through the ocean of donnie's soul would barely get your feet wet.

He lacks the ethical makeup for the presidency never mind the ability to understand the nuances of policy and important issues a POTUS has to deal with.

The thought of him being administered an oath to an office he lacks the capacity to honor is extremely disturbing. We have seen the fates of simular countries cursed with such criminals to lead them like facist Italy or Nazi Germany. We don't want to go there.

He cares only for himself and doesn't understand what "to preserve, defend and protect the Constitution of the United States" means or requires of a person. No, the last thing we all need to do is give this baby-man that kind of a gun to play with.

[longship]

76. How about "levicorpus"!!

Right in the middle of the debate.

Or a nice confundus charm would do fine. Then make him say even more clearly insane things.

Or bring on Froggy the Gremlin!
"Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!"

[rock]

78. Trump may have a couple of balls

But that's fewer than Hillary has.