Your Opinion of Trump Previous to Him Running for POTUS?

I have a friend who is a Trump supporter who claims that previous to him running he didn't know much about him, and I also have another friend who is anti-Trump who also claims that he didn't know much about him either.

When I asked both of them if they were dead serious about this they both said why would they lie about something like that? Though this perplexes me, I have no other choice but to believe them.

He's been in the news for years so it's hard for me to grasp others not knowing much about him, and from the very first time I ever saw him I thought that he was a strange smarmy power trippin' spoiled rotten rich loud mouth ego-maniac starving for attention.

He made me cringe. He has always made me cringe. Nothing that he has ever done has ever changed this feeling in me, and over the past year though I didn't think that it was possible, seeing his campaign made me dislike him a thousand times more mostly because before I could simply ignore and dismiss him, however now it's all a bit too real that he is on his way to being the POTUS.

We have discussed him time and again in other threads, but within this thread what I am solely interested in hearing from everyone, right, left, for and against, and everywhere in between is what your knowledge was of him PREVIOUS to him running for the POTUS, and what your thoughts about him were THEN?

Have you known about him for years, or only a short period of time?

Did you like or dislike him?

Did you have any opinion about him at all?

I thought of him as a savvy businessman. Didn't really like or dislike him.

I actually watched the first 2 seasons of apprentice. I enjoyed the old man who was his assistant at that time. I thought as a businessman, he was driven to succeed. As a man, I thought like most alpha males his ego was big. I neither liked nor disliked him totally. I can always find something good in everyone. I guess I really am a pollyanna.

I disliked him. I have always thought his idea of business success is abhorrant. I have always found him to be arrogant, ostentatious and boorish.

I disliked him. I have always thought his idea of business success is abhorrant. I have always found him to be arrogant, ostentatious and boorish.

Same here. I was familiar and well read on everything Donald going back to the seventies. Definitely a BOA (boorish, arrogant, ostentatious). And now we know a sexual predator as well. Just an awful man. The country will survive him but he will leave a lasting stain, as did Nixon and, more importantly, slavery.

I always thought of him as a born salesman sort of guy always marketing his businesses and brands. I never thought that much either way as to whether I liked him or not...just found him kind of interesting in that he was in so many things...owned RE, pro sports teams, TV shows, etc. I do remember watching him call into Fox News in the morning from time to time years ago talking about politics and I do remember agreeing with a lot of what he said (basically about how incompetent current politicians are in dealing with the economy, China, etc). So when he decided to run, (1) I knew immediately he was serious as he has thought about this stuff a long time and (2) I wanted to hear more about his policies.

Knew some about him. Did not like his bragging at the beginning of the campaign. Turned me way off him. But as time went on and I really listened to what he said I liked him more. I think he changed quite a bit over the campaign.

I thought of him as a successful businessman, who was pompous and full of himself. Even now, I still think he is pompous and full of himself, but immensely better than HRC.

Egomaniacal blowhard. Opinion hasn't changed, other than lowered after the sexual predator revelations.

Same here. I was familiar and well read on everything Donald going back to the seventies. Definitely a BOA (boorish, arrogant, ostentatious). And now we know a sexual predator as well. Just an awful man. The country will survive him but he will leave a lasting stain, as did Nixon and, more importantly, slavery.

Your statement that Mr. Trump is a sexual predator, is a very serious charge. What documents have you read that officially convicts him of that charge?

Didn't know much about him.

Didn't really like him all that much at the beginning of his campaign.

Always thought he was 100x better than Hillary Clinton.

I have been aware of Mr.Trump since the late 80's when I first read the cover story in Newsweek or Time, I get them both, magazine about him. I have read numerous articles about him. At first, I thought he was rude and did not like him at all. But as we both aged, I liked a lot of his business ideas. I finally got Papaw to read some of them about his ideas about how the country should be run. Some of the articles were pretty old articles. And as soon as he announced, we were with him until the end.

Your statement that Mr. Trump is a sexual predator, is a very serious charge. What documents have you read that officially convicts him of that charge?

It doesn't matter to the Left that there is no definitive proof. Just like with Russia.

Facts don't matter to the Left.

As a general rule, I despise people who promote themselves as celebrities. I felt that way about Trump before he ran for president and feel that way about him now. I never watched a single episode of Celebrity Apprentice and never will. Celebrity is something that should be bestowed upon people for great accomplishments, not something that one deliberately creates for oneself. Promoting his last name as a brand makes Trump the poster boy for self-promoting celebrities.

That being said, my opinion of Trump was much higher than it was for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama before they ran for office. I was a reluctant #NeverTrumper who reluctantly reversed course and voted for him. I just could not bring myself to support a Hillary Clinton presidency, even by passively voting for a third-party candidate in a state that she had in the bag.

If Trump takes any major action as president that I can support, then it will be more than Obama has done during the past eight years. Obama entered the Oval Office as an arrogant Community Agitator, and he is leaving office just as he entered it. Good riddance.

Hopefully, Trump will not do as bad a job over the next four years that we have to suffer through another four years under the jack booted thugs of another socialist regime. I am not optimistic that will be the case, but we owe Trump the chance to rise to the challenge of the presidency. Why? Because he won a fair election according to our laws.

Same here. I was familiar and well read on everything Donald going back to the seventies. Definitely a BOA (boorish, arrogant, ostentatious). And now we know a sexual predator as well. Just an awful man. The country will survive him but he will leave a lasting stain, as did Nixon and, more importantly, slavery.

Egomaniacal blowhard. Opinion hasn't changed, other than lowered after the sexual predator revelations.

Your statement that Mr. Trump is a sexual predator, is a very serious charge. What documents have you read that officially convicts him of that charge?

It doesn't matter to the Left that there is no definitive proof. Just like with Russia.

 

Facts don't matter to the Left.

As a general rule, I despise people who promote themselves as celebrities. I felt that way about Trump before he ran for president and feel that way about him now. I never watched a single episode of Celebrity Apprentice and never will. Celebrity is something that should be bestowed upon people for great accomplishments, not something that one deliberately creates for oneself. Promoting his last name as a brand makes Trump the poster boy for self-promoting celebrities.

 

That being said, my opinion of Trump was much higher than it was for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama before they ran for office. I was a reluctant #NeverTrumper who reluctantly reversed course and voted for him. I just could not bring myself to support a Hillary Clinton presidency, even by passively voting for a third-party candidate in a state that she had in the bag.

 

If Trump takes any major action as president that I can support, then it will be more than Obama has done during the past eight years. Obama entered the Oval Office as an arrogant Community Agitator, and he is leaving office just as he entered it. Good riddance.

 

Hopefully, Trump will not do as bad a job over the next four years that we have to suffer through another four years under the jack booted thugs of another socialist regime. I am not optimistic that will be the case, but we owe Trump the chance to rise to the challenge of the presidency. Why? Because he won a fair election according to our laws.

When Trump gets sworn in comments such as these will get you a visit from the boys in Black. Keep them coming and we will read about you all on the news @mcpapa @Science Friction