Love him or hate him, there is only one Donald Trump, one-of-a-kind, is he not?
There is no middle ground with Trump. You take him or leave him. You take him as he is, as he thinks and as he acts but without change, compromise or really even meaningful dialogue. Trump is Trump, ego at large.
His former wife Ivana called him:
THE DONALD
Not a mere Donald, but THE DONALD. Trump is about the business of living his life and being himself as aggressively as possible. Donald Trump is a man strong in character whether or not you agree with his morals and standards. He is a sort of American phenomenon, is he not?
THE DONALD is a rough and tumble businessman. Trump has raised, invested, spent, profited and lost not millions or hundreds of millions, but literally billions of dollars with much more to come. He has advanced and invested in the American economy, in capitalism, all the while he has fully exploited opportunities to his benefit. In the business world, he cares not what you or I think. In the political world, as he runs for President, I really wonder whether or not he cares what we the people think. I doubt it.
Donald Trump is a populist, having revived populism, energized so much of the disenfranchised American populous. Trump at work arouses, impacts and influences, makes people think, really think. We the people pay attention to Trump because we never know what he is going to say. He can be slanderous, scatological but never sublime or even necessarily deadly serious. He is emotional, reactionary, defensive and argumentative but it seems as though everything he says generates headlines and captures the attention of all of the American people and even the world at large. The Donald is an American populist phenomenon.
It is hard to think of Trump in terms of money for he has so much of it. I suppose even with him you can never have enough money and it is the pursuit of money, the challenge of profitability, the rewards of capitalism which seems to drive Trump and make him excel. But perhaps it is the pursuit of power, political power which now drives him and creates new opportunities for his insatiable aggression. The power a leading political candidate achieves can energize and make that candidate want more. Trump wants it all, just like the power hungry Hillary Clinton, and he is determined to become President of the United States, perhaps even more determined than we realize. Trump wants that power and influence just like Clinton does or Cruz or Rubio for the power of the American presidency emanates from the most important position in the entire world. That provides such an interesting contrast because so many of us as citizens, the voting we the people, feel powerless in so many ways as we deal with our very own government in all of its ramifications. So many of us feel as though our vote, our values, our wants and wishes mean little or nothing as our very own government grows and separates itself from us. I know that Hillary Clinton, a politician forever, cares nothing about what we think. I suspect that Donald Trump does not either. But no matter, the Trump factor has energized American politics like nothing else since perhaps the days of Reagan.
Trump they say, can never be fit for President because he has no political experience. Trump says that is an asset. THE DONALD tells us that he can not be bought, cares nothing about financial backing, and is not concerned with what the Republican infrastructure thinks. Then, he tells us at the same time that he can deal with Putin, or ISIS, or Saudi Arabia, or the Brits, the European Union, neighboring Canada or Mexico as well if not better than anyone. He knows how to hire, organize, decision-make and otherwise move things forward in a timely, efficient, aggressive and meaningful way because of his business experience. He may be right.
Trump points out that Obama had really no experience of any kind himself. Barack Hussein Obama says Trump, referred to himself as a Senator when in fact he had all of one year as the United States Senator and virtually no political experience, nationally or even locally other than that. Obama was green, a novice, but was elected because he brought a totally different approach to politics and the Democratic Party. Trump, he says, brings the very same thing to the Republican Party and consequently a fresh, somewhat conservative approach to America which can change, CHANGE BACK so many things from the disastrous Obama policies and restore greatness to America. GREATNESS TO AMERICA, the Trump theme resonates whether or not Trump can make it happen. There are tens of millions of Americans who hope and pray he can, assuming his election, and support him for that very reason. The vast majority of we the people, so many believe including me, believe in American exceptionalism and want our uniqueness’s, our differences and betters returned and restored in the most aggressive way possible. Trump promises that.
Of course he polarizes but can be polarize any more than Barack Hussein Obama? Obama has been perhaps the most Polarizing President in the history of our country, so many think. It is the Obama way or the highway. That may be the same with Trump but at least America has had eight years of the very same thing for which so many criticize Trump. It is amazing to so many that Trump not only leads in the polls, but wins primaries and wins them with crushing margins. Those individuals, those critics really do not understand THE POWER OF THE DONALD. He resonates, infects, motivates and gives hope to so many.
Trump hates spin, political spin, the (you supply the four letter word) which comes out of Washington and the mouths of politicians. That kind of a spin is nothing but lie and hypocrisy to him and he exposes it wherever he can. He attacks liars and calls people, including fellow candidates, liars if he thinks they are. Yet at the same time, THE DONALD himself evolves, changes, corrects himself and otherwise seems to have no problem doing or saying whatever is required to advance his cause and himself. He has openly supported Democrats and Democratic policies and philosophies in the past as it suited his own self-interests. Now, he has evolved to the point where he supports and champions people and issues who are conservative, at least somewhat so to differentiate himself from others and separate himself from Democratic extremists like Clinton and Sanders, so he says, for his political benefit. The man who hates Washington spin and hypocrisy is fairly good at some of that himself. EVOLVING is a fact in the political way of life.
Take Israel for example. Trump says of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that he would be neutral:
“Let me be sort of a neutral guy, a lot of people have gone down in flames trying to make that deal so I don’t want to say whose fault it is. I don’t think it helps.”
Of course, conservatives and especially Jews aggressively protested and criticized him, reminding him that no President of the United States can ever be neutral when it comes to this potentially world-upsetting conflict in the Middle East.
That registered.
Somewhat later, THE DONALD said:
ISRAEL IS SO IMPORTANT. WHAT OBAMA HAS DONE TO ISRAEL IS A DISGRACE. HOW THEY EVEN TALK TO US IS HARD TO BELIEVE. HOW DO THEY TALK TO OBAMA? YOU LOOK AT WHAT HE’S (OBAMA) HAS DONE TO ISRAEL, WITH JUST THIS IRAN DEAL, WHICH IS SUCH A TERRIBLE DEAL. HE (OBAMA) HAS BEEN THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENDED TO ISRAEL.
And, Trump in his political wisdom and his concern for Jewish support and votes said:
NOW A LOT OF MY FRIENDS THAT ARE JEWISH DO NOT SUPPORT HIM (OBAMA) ANY LONGER. BUT I STILL HAVE SOME THAT DO. I SAY, HOW CAN YOU DO IT?
Trump evolving, extricating himself from between a rock and a hard place in an attempt to build a broader and larger political support. The same kind of spin, the same kind of lie under the politically correct term of:
EVOLVING
Donald Trump is different. He is anything but a politician. He is a rough and tumble businessman, pure and simple. It is hard to understand his political philosophy, platform, priorities or points of view. They are there but difficult to ascertain. Even as a businessman, his views on the economy and especially taxation are anything but conservative. Yet he claims he will inspire and ignite the economy and create more jobs and employment opportunity than any U.S. President. He never tells us how, but promises he will. Sounds politically familiar, does it not?
Trump is tough. THE DONALD is aggressive, forthright, straight and confrontational. He backs down from no one and he is ready to criticize anyone. He is comfortable in the attack and in counterattacking. Trump is a formidable foe as Cruz and Rubio well know. Donald Trump is real. There is no hypocrisy even though there is inconsistency. He says what he thinks, unabashedly, afraid of no one or any retort or attack in return. Bring it on, he seems to say, at every turn. And they the opponents do in fact bring it on and THE DONALD, loving the attack-counterattack goes after the attackers any way he can. He will call them names, using stereotypes, four letter words, vulgarity or anything else which happens at the moment to cross his mind. He reacts unfiltered, spontaneously and often without regard for the consequences. He gets attention with everything he says and does, seems to relish in the attention, including and especially the attack of the liberal media which may govern much of what he says and how he says it.
At the same time, Trump is personable. His personality is unique whether you like him or not. Trump is strong, very strong and in these troubled days, Americans very much want a strong President, one who will protect and defend our country, not cottoned to foreign leaders or sellout our interest and Trump seems to convey that message directly and indirectly. And so Americans respond favorably, at least conservatives and Republicans.
THE DONALD is an interesting man. He is the subject of tabloids. Married perhaps four or five times, living the good life, center of attention, something which Americans of all sorts and political persuasions enjoy. Whether I agree or disagree, I personally always find him interesting. He inspires dialogue and thinking. In fact, the more you don’t like him or disagree with him, the sharper become your own ideas, thoughts and opinions and the political dialogue energizes. THE INTERESTING DONALD seems to make that happen.
Americans respond to Trump at least in part because he is so financially successful. He has made billions of dollars, spends it, loves the power it brings and indicates to all Americans that any of us do have the opportunity to do what he did in our own way if we work as he did. That inspires and challenges which America, at least economically, so desperately needs at this point given our present President. Trump makes it clear that America matters, our way of life including and especially capitalism are critical for our future and must be maintained. He reminds us again and again that we are exceptional and we should always protect and preserve that exceptionalism. Again, Americans respond.
Trump makes it clear that if he is elected President, there will never be business as usual in Washington ever again. He will appoint the smartest, most aggressive GET THINGS DONE people, male and female he can find to run America right. We will, he says, once again be strong, aggressive in the world and protect and defend the American position in the world. And yet again, Americans respond.
Trump and Trump populism are forces which can not be denied and must not ever be taken for granted. Whatever may be wrong, there is much good about the man, his of way of thinking, and communicating, and his vision for America. More good than bad and now politicians begin to realize that. THE DONALD is now the odds-on favorite to be the Republican nominee for President. So many think that Trump can beat Clinton or Sanders, and do so handily. Whether right or not, such an election battle would be fascinating, don’t you think? Conservatives and Republicans may find themselves voting for Trump because he is their only alternative, and especially a viable alternative to a Hillary Rodham Clinton or a Bernard Sanders. It will be Trump’s brand of Republicanism against the Democrats brand of liberalism. Trump is not a true conservative by any means, but far more conservative than either Clinton or Sanders. Trump conservatism or Clinton liberalism may be the only two choices Americans have in November.
If that is the case, how would you vote? There are eight months left before that decision needs to be made. We need to learn a lot more, experience more of Republican candidates narrowed down, perhaps to Trump, Cruz and Rubio and get on with concentrated, focused politics. That would be good for America.
Trump like every political candidate is both good and bad for America. I wonder whether or not you see Donald Trump, THE DONALD more good than bad?