Mighty Mouth
Here he comes to save the day, Mighty Mouth.
Donald Trump has deigned to run for president, convinced that the nation's future is in peril unless he takes over. "If I get elected president, I will bring (the United States) back bigger and better and stronger than ever before," he modestly promised.
And one of his vows is to save Israel. The 12th of 13 GOP presidential wannabes (3 more expected) has tweeted "Nobody but Donald Trump will save Israel." He hasn't elaborated on his Middle East policy. One qualification may stem from his daughter's conversion and marriage to an Orthodox Jew.
At an Iowa campaign event, a Holocaust survivor was introduced to the crowd apparently as evidence of Trump's support for Israel.
He has called Barack Obama "the worst thing that ever happened to Israel." And told another audience, “There has never been a greater enemy to Israel than Barack Obama.”
The orange-coiffed launched his campaign by letting everyone know how very, very rich ($8.7 billlion) he is and how he feels about Mexicans ("they're bringing drugs…crime…they're rapists").
That racist rant — which he later expanded to cover the rest of Latin America — didn't seem to bother his fellow GOP candidates, judging by their silence. The Democrats, however, were delighted with his generous contribution to keeping Hispanic voters in their camp.
His regard for his fellow candidates isn't much greater. “They will never make America great again. They don’t even have a chance. They’re controlled fully by the lobbyists, by the donors and by the special interests – fully. They control them," he said.
"He calls Jeb Bush’s intelligence into question and ridicules Rick Perry for excessive sweating. He is a Ted Cruz birther and speculates that Hillary Clinton “can’t satisfy her husband.” His opponents are “losers” and “morally corrupt” and “selling this country down the drain.” They are “clowns” and “stupid people” and often, by his account, physically ugly," writes conservative columnist Michael Gerson
What Trump lacks in graciousness, finesse and policy understanding he more than compensates with self-esteem, raising doubts whether one country, even one as large as this one, is big enough for his ego. He really doesn't talk about policy so much as rant in topic sentences, tweets and blurbs. He is prolific if not creative in his insults, calling rivals and opponents "losers," "clowns," "morally corrupt," "stupid," "dangerous" and more.
His critics are more creative in describing him, however. Conservative columnist George Will called a "bloviating ignoramus," and another conservative commentator, Michele Malkin, labeled him "a conservafraud."
Judging by Trump's history of feuds, insults, outbursts, tantrums and lawsuits, a Trump presidency is likely to start so many wars he could make George W. Bush look like a pacifist.
He quickly shot up in the polls in New Hampshire. He has greater name recognition than the rest of the 13-and-growing field of candidates, but he is also the one who leads in another key poll: the one in which most Republicans told a Fox News survey they would NEVER vote for.
The boastful billionaire likes to put his name on everything — buildings, golf course, clothing, even vodka. Can't you see the new neon lights at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave blazing "The Trump House"?
He'll certainly get the birther vote, though he'll have competition from Ted Cruz. He's the guy who sent his investigators to Hawaii to prove Barack Obama wasn't really born there. No word about what planet the Donald is from, though.
He'll need all his star power to make the cut for the first Republican debate on August 6. Fox is limiting the stage to the top 10 in the polls. If Trump makes it he may be asked to give substantive answers — though coming from Faux News they shouldn't be too tough — or retreat into his usual outrageous charges and bombastic rhetoric.
The Donald will be the most colorful and audacious in the crowd; he is a master at media manipulation. At least he'll bring some badly needed comic relief to a campaign over-populated on all sides by people who take themselves too seriously. But don't be surprised if he loses interest and poll numbers, and is gone before the first votes are cast early next year, even before voters get a chance to tell him, "You're fired."