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highplainsdem

(59,639 posts)
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:12 PM Dec 11

White House weighs tapping substitutes for Trump on the road after affordability rally veers off-script: 'He's stubborn'

Source: Independent

The White House may lean on surrogates to drum up support for President Donald Trump’s economic agenda ahead of next year’s midterms, according to a new report, which comes after the president veered off script at a recent rally on affordability.

While many Trump supporters are glad to see him back on the campaign trail, some allies acknowledged the president is an “imperfect messenger” when it comes to his ability to quell voter concerns about the economy, Politico reported.

The White House may lean on surrogates to drum up support for President Donald Trump’s economic agenda ahead of next year’s midterms, according to a new report, which comes after the president veered off script at a recent rally on affordability.

While many Trump supporters are glad to see him back on the campaign trail, some allies acknowledged the president is an “imperfect messenger” when it comes to his ability to quell voter concerns about the economy, Politico reported.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-affordability-rally-economy-white-house-b2882875.html

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White House weighs tapping substitutes for Trump on the road after affordability rally veers off-script: 'He's stubborn' (Original Post) highplainsdem Dec 11 OP
Not up to the job, huh? travelingthrulife Dec 11 #1
I swear that using 'clones' is not beyond their thinking. OldBaldy1701E Dec 11 #7
Apparently not ck4829 Dec 12 #50
Huh uh . . . . that dog don't hunt. no_hypocrisy Dec 11 #2
Exactly, no!! My first thought as well was the lovely and talented *Ivanka*, and then - Leghorn21 Dec 11 #13
Send out Stephen Miller! hoosierspud Dec 11 #18
Yup, that 5-head makes a great........................ AZ8theist Dec 12 #51
Good luck with that. Big Blue Marble Dec 11 #3
So, even the WHITE HOUSE is admitting............ MyOwnPeace Dec 11 #4
My guess is that taxpayers are funding these so called rallies - possibly in violation of the Hatch Act Nictuku Dec 11 #5
When the President goes out, we pay for all his expenses, that's a given FakeNoose Dec 11 #12
Perhaps he just won't pay the bills not fooled Dec 12 #42
If by "imperfect messenger" they mean incoherent, babbling jackass with a third grade vocabulary .... 11 Bravo Dec 11 #6
Yeah, "imperfect messenger" cracked me up PatSeg Dec 11 #9
A "stubborn, imperfect messenger"...he's so completely delusional no one can even reason with him now. sop Dec 11 #14
Yep ck4829 Dec 12 #49
That made me Deminpenn Dec 12 #52
I think I saw a truck backing up to congress and unloading cases of orange make up. LOL nt Javaman Dec 11 #8
So They're No Longer Satisfied with an Orange Zombie? The Roux Comes First Dec 11 #10
Again, the republiSCUM lackeys, sychophants and toadies MLWR Dec 11 #11
His nationwide tour lasted one whole event? Prairie Gates Dec 11 #15
Somehow that didn't surprise me at all. ShazzieB Dec 12 #59
He isn't an imperfect messenger lonely bird Dec 11 #16
LOL. I knew he wouldn't last long. Stubborn is code for addlebrained and cowardly. nt Blasphemer Dec 11 #17
Question: moose65 Dec 11 #19
It usually means White House staff. highplainsdem Dec 11 #21
The original reporting from Politico is more explanatory.... reACTIONary Dec 12 #41
JD Vance has all the charisma and personality of a brick Deminpenn Dec 12 #53
Vance and Bessent??? lonely bird Dec 12 #56
I remember an anecdote from the Watergate era. murielm99 Dec 12 #44
It's a cult BaronChocula Dec 11 #20
Yep, won't be the same without the main attraction ck4829 Dec 12 #48
They only got 1500 Trumpers to show up at his... Mawspam2 Dec 11 #22
More like 500, if that Deminpenn Dec 12 #54
Lol! That'll get the crowds out -- NOT! KPN Dec 11 #23
Should we shock him again or just call ______________________________________________ twodogsbarking Dec 11 #24
It will still be a circus without the "chief" clown. twodogsbarking Dec 11 #25
I think they have finally reached that point... FalloutShelter Dec 11 #26
Weekend at Bernie's time is it? SheltieLover Dec 11 #27
LOL! ck4829 Dec 12 #47
A comedy of errors at this point Cirsium Dec 11 #28
That didn't last long. Low energy? C_U_L8R Dec 11 #29
The lowest energy you've ever seen ck4829 Dec 12 #46
I WANT him to tour non-stop BigmanPigman Dec 11 #30
Who ya gonna get...ghost busters? Vthestate Dec 11 #31
"imperfect" more like incoherent , we're talking Alice in Wonderland incoherent Uncle Joe Dec 11 #32
Oh ya Nasruddin Dec 11 #33
I look pretty young but I'm just back-dated. Martin68 Dec 11 #37
substitutes Trump whores Skittles Dec 11 #34
It seems like only yesterday that the White House Chief of Staff said rsdsharp Dec 11 #35
That's a losing proposition. They're lost the plot. Pass the popcorn. Martin68 Dec 11 #36
lol what a conundrum! Drum Dec 11 #38
Is Ebeneezer Scrooge available / GusBob Dec 11 #39
I vote for Vance and Miller. Now there is a charismatic duo. That ought to fill Marie Marie Dec 11 #40
He was out there touting affordability because he knew the extensions for the ACA were going to be voted down PortTack Dec 12 #43
Nah, it needs to be Trump front and center. I don't remember the "median voters" voting for "surrogates" ck4829 Dec 12 #45
Trump will never allow himself to be usurped by surrogates Deminpenn Dec 12 #55
HA HA HA I can only imagine. Do you think Trump will be able to sit still in the WH just watching? LiberalLovinLug Dec 12 #57
This could blow up in the GOP's face spectacularly. ShazzieB Dec 12 #58

OldBaldy1701E

(9,992 posts)
7. I swear that using 'clones' is not beyond their thinking.
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:24 PM
Dec 11

Get some actors, pay them a lot of money, plastic surgery, and then start touting his 'recovery'.

As crazy as it sounds, the faithful will still buy it.

no_hypocrisy

(54,126 posts)
2. Huh uh . . . . that dog don't hunt.
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:17 PM
Dec 11

MAGA only has eyes for their orange God-King.

J.D. Vance? Yawn.

Ivanka in a tight skirt with a side-slit? Nice for five minutes.

It's DJT or nobody.

Leghorn21

(14,012 posts)
13. Exactly, no!! My first thought as well was the lovely and talented *Ivanka*, and then -
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:43 PM
Dec 11

nope, NOBODY

HA HA

MyOwnPeace

(17,437 posts)
4. So, even the WHITE HOUSE is admitting............
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:22 PM
Dec 11

he doesn’t even know what the fuck he’s talking about!

Great job, GOP!!!

Nictuku

(4,529 posts)
5. My guess is that taxpayers are funding these so called rallies - possibly in violation of the Hatch Act
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:22 PM
Dec 11

FakeNoose

(40,005 posts)
12. When the President goes out, we pay for all his expenses, that's a given
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:42 PM
Dec 11

Whether we pay for the other staffers, I'm not sure. They're supposed to do campaigning on their own time, you know, off the clock. Is that really happening? I doubt it.

not fooled

(6,590 posts)
42. Perhaps he just won't pay the bills
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 12:09 AM
Dec 12

for these desperation rallies--wouldn't be the first time.

11 Bravo

(24,271 posts)
6. If by "imperfect messenger" they mean incoherent, babbling jackass with a third grade vocabulary ....
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:23 PM
Dec 11

then I have to agree.

PatSeg

(51,974 posts)
9. Yeah, "imperfect messenger" cracked me up
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:31 PM
Dec 11

I can easily imagine what they were really thinking and I think you nailed it.

sop

(17,288 posts)
14. A "stubborn, imperfect messenger"...he's so completely delusional no one can even reason with him now.
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:45 PM
Dec 11

Must be really hard working for an insane, demented old man who won't listen to anyone.

The Roux Comes First

(2,123 posts)
10. So They're No Longer Satisfied with an Orange Zombie?
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:32 PM
Dec 11

There are obviously plenty of brain-dead cadavers available - even without putin propping them up full time.

MLWR

(746 posts)
11. Again, the republiSCUM lackeys, sychophants and toadies
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 05:38 PM
Dec 11

are covering for a mentally deficient whom THEY decided should run the country.

ShazzieB

(22,148 posts)
59. Somehow that didn't surprise me at all.
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 03:10 PM
Dec 12

I've been following the news about his condition too closely not to know what bad shape he's in. When the plan for these rallies was announced, i was very skeptical that he'd last long. Doping him up could work for an event here and there, but it's not sustainable. Sooner or later, he'd collapse completely or maybe even drop dead, possibly in from of a crowd of his adoring fans. We wouldn't mind that at all, but even Repubs aren't stupid enough to think their pathetic excuse for a party could survive that.

They must be getting really desperate if they think sending out surrogates will do any good, and I for one will applaud when they fall flat on their lying faces.

lonely bird

(2,710 posts)
16. He isn't an imperfect messenger
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 06:28 PM
Dec 11

He is both the perfect Republican messenger in that he lies and rambles and is also mentally damaged

moose65

(3,438 posts)
19. Question:
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 06:49 PM
Dec 11

When an article like this says “The White House” does this or that, what does that even mean?

Trump IS “The White House” isn’t he??

reACTIONary

(6,950 posts)
41. The original reporting from Politico is more explanatory....
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 12:02 AM
Dec 12

There are "signs" and "people close to the White House" saying things....

And there are signs the White House is looking to other surrogates to help carry the administration’s affordability push into next year, as Trump allies concede the president is unlikely to morph into a nuanced and empathetic messenger. Following Trump’s visit to northeast Pennsylvania, Vice President JD Vance will travel to Allentown next week where he will emphasize “how much the Trump administration is focused on the issue of affordability,” according to a Vance spokesperson.

People close to the White House see value in other messengers — like Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — helping to carry the White House’s affordability message, while the president focuses on motivating his die-hard supporters who might not otherwise vote when he isn’t on the ballot.


https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/10/never-going-to-be-pitch-perfect-trump-loyalists-see-an-imperfect-messenger-00685649?utm_medium=bluesky&utm_source=dlvr.it

Deminpenn

(17,277 posts)
53. JD Vance has all the charisma and personality of a brick
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 04:51 AM
Dec 12

The people who will go to his rallies will probably fit inside a drive-thru Dunkin' Donuts.

lonely bird

(2,710 posts)
56. Vance and Bessent???
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 09:20 AM
Dec 12

Oh, please, please, please!

Those two idiots would fuck things up even worse.

murielm99

(32,641 posts)
44. I remember an anecdote from the Watergate era.
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 01:20 AM
Dec 12

Someone involved in the hearings kept getting phone calls from "the White House." He told his staff to reply that he was busy and not able to speak with Mr. House at that time.

BaronChocula

(3,967 posts)
20. It's a cult
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 06:50 PM
Dec 11

"Sorry guys, Chucky Manson couldn't make it, but here's Larry."

Who else would they bother to go see lie?

Mawspam2

(1,077 posts)
22. They only got 1500 Trumpers to show up at his...
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 07:00 PM
Dec 11

...bumbling, stumbling, rumbling Pennsylvania casino rally. Who do they think is going to show up at some JD Couchfucker rally?

Deminpenn

(17,277 posts)
54. More like 500, if that
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 04:54 AM
Dec 12

The ballroom's capacity as configured was only reported at 600 or so,

KPN

(17,119 posts)
23. Lol! That'll get the crowds out -- NOT!
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 07:18 PM
Dec 11

More importantly, any crowd that does show will probably do so to run them out of town.

FalloutShelter

(14,138 posts)
26. I think they have finally reached that point...
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 07:56 PM
Dec 11

Where they can’t chance putting him in front of a live mic anymore.

Cirsium

(3,301 posts)
28. A comedy of errors at this point
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 08:35 PM
Dec 11

The only thing Trump could ever do was his bizarre cult rallies. Everything else is a product of his deranged imagination. If he can't do his idiotic rallies, he is done.

Who knew dictatoring would be so hard?

BigmanPigman

(54,533 posts)
30. I WANT him to tour non-stop
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 08:56 PM
Dec 11

Until he drops dead of a stroke while on live TV telling us how the news of his health is just a game Dems play.

Vthestate

(42 posts)
31. Who ya gonna get...ghost busters?
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 08:58 PM
Dec 11

The fluff article is a nothing burger. The chumps on the second string will convince no one.
it's all over but the crying.....Trump has no clue what to do once the insurance bills start rocking his world.

Uncle Joe

(64,087 posts)
32. "imperfect" more like incoherent , we're talking Alice in Wonderland incoherent
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 09:07 PM
Dec 11

Thanks for the thread highplainsdem.

Nasruddin

(1,171 posts)
33. Oh ya
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 09:39 PM
Dec 11

Take it away Roger & Pete!

Substitute your lies for fact
I can see right through your plastic mac
I look all white, but my dad was black
My fine looking suit is really made out of sack

rsdsharp

(11,742 posts)
35. It seems like only yesterday that the White House Chief of Staff said
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 10:04 PM
Dec 11

that the way they were going to win the midterms was to have Trump campaign like it was 2024.

Oh, wait. It WAS only yesterday!

Drum

(10,557 posts)
38. lol what a conundrum!
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 10:55 PM
Dec 11

Send out cray-cray Donald and roll the dice, or present the surrogates and have attendance of about 50 per gig.

Marie Marie

(10,841 posts)
40. I vote for Vance and Miller. Now there is a charismatic duo. That ought to fill
Thu Dec 11, 2025, 11:31 PM
Dec 11

the venue's 4 front rows.

PortTack

(35,810 posts)
43. He was out there touting affordability because he knew the extensions for the ACA were going to be voted down
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 01:15 AM
Dec 12

Make no mistake…he got the biggest infusion of his hate filled energy ever. I give him a week before he says ther quiet part out loud, that he alone was able to destroy the biggest accomplishment of the black man…filthy fucker!

ck4829

(37,391 posts)
45. Nah, it needs to be Trump front and center. I don't remember the "median voters" voting for "surrogates"
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 01:43 AM
Dec 12

Deminpenn

(17,277 posts)
55. Trump will never allow himself to be usurped by surrogates
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 05:05 AM
Dec 12

Let's be honest, this is a guy who is busy plastering his name and face on everything he can to satisfy his egomania. Suzie Wilds and company think that guy is going ceded the limelight to Vance or Bessent? No way.

Not only is Trump not going to quit this campaign tour, but he'll probably insist on doing multiple rallies a day. It's conventional wisdom that the more Americans see of Trump the less they like him. The more public appearances, the better.

There was a story in the local paper that quoted one guy at the rally saying this was the 50th time he'd travelled to see Trump. At some point even those cultists will be heading for the door.

LiberalLovinLug

(14,566 posts)
57. HA HA HA I can only imagine. Do you think Trump will be able to sit still in the WH just watching?
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 02:26 PM
Dec 12

He'll be criticizing and tweeting the speakers. Saying how he should have been there. Especially if there are empty stadiums, or gawd help him, boos.

ShazzieB

(22,148 posts)
58. This could blow up in the GOP's face spectacularly.
Fri Dec 12, 2025, 02:53 PM
Dec 12

I'm not saying, it definitely WILL, just that it could. People know how much they are paying for groceries, gas, housing, and utilities. They know how much they're having to skimp on Christmas presents. The ones who have lost or are about to lose things like SNAP benefits, Medicaid, and/or ACA health care subsidies know or are going to know that they don't have enough to eat, that they can't afford to go to the doctor or fill prescriptions.

All Schlump has to offer are lies and more lies. People can't live on lies. People can't eat lies, fill their gas tank with them, or wrap them up and give to them to their kids for Christmas. Only the most brainwashed diehard MAGA morons, the numbers of which are dwindling daily, are going to fall for these affordability rallies or whatever they're calling them.

Surely there's a tipping point somewhere, a point when the number of true believers will no longer be sufficient to outweigh the rising tide of those who are aware of how bad off they are and mad as hell about it. I don't know where that point is, but I think we will all know when it happens, and I am really looking forward to it.

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