Gun to your head. You have to choose Trump or Cruz to be the next President, otherwise your entire family will be executed. So there's no getting out of this. You must choose.
I literally can't do it. They are both sociopathic megalomaniacs in my eyes. While I think Trump might (might?) have more moderate policies in some areas, I actually have no clue, and I cannot support his race baiting xenophobia, exploiting the worst tendencies of our society. But Cruz is completely aligned against just about everything I stand for: truth, informed decision making, loving they neighbor, international caution, etc. I guess I would just flip a coin and save my family, at least temporarily.
Here's my thinking, and of course this is just based on what I know of these guys (admittedly not a ton) and guessing. I think Trump would be less violent than Cruz. I think his "no Muslims" immigration policy would be abandoned immediately. I also think that while he'd kill innocent people in the Middle East, he'd do so at a slower rate than Cruz. Cruz, I think, is a believer. He believes the stuff he says, and believes his actions would have some sort of holy blessing. Trump, I think, is an entertainer / self-promoter. I think there's a decent chance that he's just saying what he needs to say to help his brand, and not necessarily because he believes it to be the absolute truth. Just so happens that in this case, his bizarre self promotion might get him elected President. So for that reason I chose Trump. I think the worst thing that he would do is start trade wars. Which is bad, of course, but not as bad as killing people.
You guys make good points. I just don't like the historical precedent of assuming anyone will moderate once they're elected. But yeah, I would probably go with your way of thinking, if someone put a gun to my head.
Trump, because it's still dubious whether or not Trump really believes the stuff he has been spewing. Cruz is authentically crazy.
I always assumed Cruz said extreme stuff to appeal to the angry base, but he's really just a regular Republican. Trump is completely nuts- build a wall, sue the media, murder terrorist's families, hang out with Putin, investigate enemies, torture, etc
I have respect for Cruz's abilities as a politician. He's shrewd and hardworking and very ambitious. Everything he does has a purpose to serve the grand plan. Meanwhile, I have little respect for Trump's abilities. He's also shrewd, but doesn't have the high motor, forward thinking, or ambition of Cruz. So, I think Cruz will be very effective as a president while Trump would kind of bump around from emergency to emergency. However, they both would lead the country in directions I don't want to go. So, it's a bit of a catch-22. Pick Trump and he might fail as a president and the country will suffer. Or pick Cruz and he might succeed at the wrong objectives and the country will suffer. I'd probably gamble with Trump, hoping the robustness of our democracy will carry us through.
Heck of a gamble. I want rubio to win, but if it's Hillary vs trump I'm definitely voting for Hillary.
IIRC, I remember reading that even fellow Republicans hate Cruz. He doesn't come across as a good guy to me, at all. Cruz also has the face of an evil dictator. He scares me. Trump on the other hand, and IMO, is a loud mouth blowhard. The type of guy that likes to talk just to hear himself talking. He'd definitely put his foot in his mouth a TON as president, but he'd also have to surround himself with people who actually know what they're doing. Obviously they both are far from ideal and it still amazes me that Trump has a legit chance to pull it off. I don't want to chose.
Trump. Think he's more open to softening his stances than Cruz is. Cruz is just too crazy for my liking.
Thing about Cruz is I know where he stands and the types of things he is pushing to do. He is qualified and has experience dealing with Congress. Trump just lists problems but provides no viable solutions. Rubio absolutely exposed him in the last debate.
His experience "dealing with Congress" consists of becoming the most hated man in Congress by literally refusing to work with his colleagues from even his own party on anything. That kind of experience isn't the good kind.
Cruz says that there should be no compromise in Washington and acts like making a deal is the worst thing one can do. Trump wants to make good deals. I will go with the deal maker over the obstructionist 100 times out of 100.
participation in the poll would be higher if it asked who we would be least likely to vote for. Too painful to contemplate voting for either. And I've sullied by good fake internet name by associating it with the buffoon above. But I'll play. I think Trump is a show, couldn't do what he says, and would be bored and ineffective. Bureaucrats would run the govt. He'd be an embarrassment for four years or until he decided he didn't want to do it anymore. Cruz is legitimately crazy. Means what he says, and would be on a mission to accomplish it. Or burn down the house trying. So if it's going to be a clown show, lets go full in and elect the clown. (realistically I think either gets blown out by Hillary. Trump can win the nom with 35-50% in primaries, but he'll have a McGovern like awakening at a national election when no Ds or Is vote for him and he loses 35%+ of the Rs. Frighteningly, I've been wrong about his appeal before -- so it's really not a scenario I want to see).