Trumped-up political credibility will be undermined by sobering concerns
Published August 28, 2015
by John Davis, The John Davis Political Report, August 19, 2015.
The United States needs a great leader; a transformative consensus-builder. Are these the words of a great consensus builder: “moron,” “bimbo,” “dummy,” “loser,” “stupid?” Foolishness is why Donald Trump has no future in the presidential race.
Trump’s political credibility is fool’s gold. A superficial resemblance to great leadership. In time, trumped-up political credibility will be undermined by sobering state and national concerns.
Meanwhile, political foolishness is Trump’s modus operandi. Insults are a campaign tactic.
“Sometimes, part of making a deal is denigrating your competition,” writes Trump in The Art of the Deal, his 1987 bestseller. Here are several recent examples of Trump on the attack taken from an August 14, 2015 story in Politico magazine by Michael Kruse titled, The 199 Most Donald Trump Things Donald Trump Has Ever Said:
- George Will is a “moron.” (Twitter, April 17, 2015)
- Chuck Todd is a “moron.” (Twitter, Aug. 9, 2013)
- Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel: “Obvious moron.” (Twitter, Aug. 23, 2014)
- Megyn Kelly is a “bimbo.” (Twitter, Aug. 7, 2015)
- Michelle Malkin is a “dummy.” (Twitter, Oct. 25, 2012)
- Brian Williams is a “dummy.” (Twitter, March 6, 2013)
- “Karl Rove is a total loser.” (Twitter, Feb. 7, 2013)
- Republican pollster Frank Luntz is a “total loser!” (Twitter, Aug. 3, 2014)
- John McCain is “not a war hero. … He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured, OK?” (Ames, Iowa, July 18, 2015)
- “Truly weird Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky reminds me of a spoiled brat without a properly functioning brain.” (Twitter, Aug. 10, 2015)
- “I just realized that if you listen to Carly Fiorina for more than ten minutes straight, you develop a massive headache. She has zero chance!” (Twitter, Aug. 9, 2015)
- Rick Perry “put on glasses so people think he’s smart. … People can see through the glasses.” (Bluffton, S.C., July 21, 2015)
- Rick Santorum? “I have a big plane. He doesn’t.” (Des Moines Register, April 8, 2015)
- “Jeb Bush has to like the Mexican Illegals because of his wife.” (Retweeted and then deleted on Twitter, July 4, 2015)
Polarization is America’s Greatest Impediment to Progress
Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again. How can he make America great again unless he inspires greatness? Personal insults only inspire polarization. Isn’t polarization the greatest impediment to solving the problems faced by our state and nation?
- $18.4 trillion national debt and unsustainable entitlement programs
- Shockingly inept means of funding healthcare
- Underemployed forced to feed their families with federal food stamps
- Neglected investments by the states in infrastructure, an economic development imperative
- Globally uncompetitive K12 educational system
Sobering state and national problems like those listed will, in time, undermine polarizing candidates with trumped-up political credibility. Likewise, sobering state and national problems will undermine the candidacies of polarizing partisan and ideological purists.
Ironically, today’s political leaders have not made sufficient progress towards solving state and federal problems because they are polarized by partisan and ideological purists who value principle over compromise solutions to problems. The hard-right/hard-left Donald Trump/Bernie Sanders ideologues are outraged over the results of the very problem they created: polarization.
Is Donald Trump’s priority to make America great, or is it to make Donald Trump great? Is Trump in the race to promote Trump Entertainment? Consider Trumps own words, again from the August 14, 2015 story in Politico magazine by Michael Kruse:
- “It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.” (Fortune, April 3, 2000)
- “One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better. … The point is that if you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you.” (The Art of the Deal, 1987)
- “Sometimes it pays to be a little wild.” (The Art of the Deal, 1987)
- “Controversy, in short, sells.” (The Art of the Deal, 1987)
In time, sobering state and national concerns will lead American voters to choose a consensus builder for President of the United States. Someone who can end the polarization of ideological factions, not someone who thrives on “denigrating your competition” with words like “morons,” “bimbos,” “dummies,” “losers,” “stupid people.”
Meanwhile, look for Trump to hire every available political operative in the country to swarm the early caucus and primary states to keep the perception going that he is a serious presidential contender. It’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars in free advertising world-wide benefiting his casinos and resorts.
As Trump told Fortune, “It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.”
