To date, the race for the Republican presidential nomination may be summarized as follows:
Trump blustered and bullied, onstage and off. The debate moderators indulged him while the press gave his outbursts free publicity. As a result, Trumpโs opponents had difficulty getting their messages heard.
With celebrity and emotion trumping experience and thoughtful discourse, primary voters have followed their understandable feelings of resentment toward the GOP in particular (and politicians in general) and provided Trump a commanding lead.
Candidates considerably more qualified than Trump, including Walker, Graham, Paul, Huckabee, Bush, Christie, and Fiorina, were forced to withdraw from the race.
Growing desperate, Marco Rubio changed his strategy and descended to Trumpโs nasty, crude, even lewd campaign style. This strategy proved counterproductive, however, tarnishing Rubioโs image of a principled, โpresidentialโ candidate and perhaps heralding his exit from the contest.
The GOPโs nightmare continues. The partyโs Establishment has grown increasingly concerned that Trump will win the nomination. Mitt Romneyโs belated and in some ways condescending warning to primary voters to reject Trump is the most obvious indication of that concern.
At this moment, it appears that the Establishmentโs only chance to defeat Trump is to cast their lot with Ted Cruz, a candidate they have never liked, principally because his independence of mind makes them uncomfortable. Put more bluntly, he is not as manipulable as they would like.
The nightmare is richly deserved. Time and again, for over a decade, Establishment-certified candidates have pledged to replace โprogressiveโ social and economic policies and then, once elected, have approved and even expanded those policies.
At long last, Republican voters have had their fill of the GOP Establishmentโs patronizing arrogance, contempt for conservative principles, and broken promises. And their embrace of Trump has been their way of expressing their feelings.
America, however, deserves a more worthy candidate than anger has driven Republican primary voters to embrace. Trumpโs promise to โmake America great againโ ignores the fact that Americaโs greatness resides mainly in the Judeo-Christian ethic on which the country was founded. Central to that ethic is treating others with respect, something that, to put it mildly, Trump is ill-equipped to restore. Some examples of his inadequacy:
On April 15, 1989 he reportedly told Larry King on the latterโs show, โDo you mind if I sit back a little bit? Because your breath is very bad. It really is. Has this ever been told to you before?โ
He reportedly said on Entertainment Tonight, December 21, 2006, โIf I were running The View, Iโd fire Rosie. I mean, Iโd look at her right in that fat ugly face of hers and say, โRosie, youโre fired.โ Weโre all a little chubby, but Rosieโs just worse than most of us.โ
Journalist Elizabeth Beck claimed that in 2011 when she asked for a break to pump breast milk for her infant, Trump โgot up, his face got red, he shook his finger at [her] and he screamed, โYouโre disgusting, youโre disgusting,โ and he ran out of there.โ
In August 2012 Trump reportedly tweeted that Arianna Huffington โis unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a manโhe made a good decision.โ
Trump opined in a 2012 interview with Greta Van Susteren. โCher is somewhat of a loser. Sheโs lonely. Sheโs unhappy. Sheโs very miserable.โ
In July of 2015, Trump declared to pollster Frank Luntz, โSenator John McCain] is not a war hero.โ When Luntz challenged that remark, Trump replied, โHe is a war hero because he was captured. I like people that werenโt captured, OK? I hate to tell you.โ He then acknowledged that McCain โis a war hero because he was captured,โ then concluded that โperhaps he is a war hero.โ A few days later Bill OโReilly gave Trump an opportunity to explain his tortured thinkingโMcCain is, McCain isnโt, McCain might beโand to apologize. Trump chose instead to change the subject to McCainโs voting record.
During the first Fox News debate in August of 2015, Megyn Kelly asked Trump about his calling women he doesnโt like โfat pigs,โ โdogs,โ โslobsโโ and โdisgusting animals.โ He took offense at the question and later told a CNN reporter, โโYou could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.โ
(The idea that Trumpโs view of women is less than positive is supported by this Trump quote in the 2005 book TrumpNation: โMy favorite part [of โPulp Fictionโ] is when Sam has his gun out in the diner and he tells the guy to tell his girlfriend to shut up. Tell that bitch to be cool. Say: โBitch be cool.โ I love those lines.โ Also, Harry Hurt IIIโs 1991 Esquire article quotes Trump as saying, โYou know, it doesnโt really matter what [the media] write as long as youโve got a young and beautiful piece of [expletive].โ)
On September, 2015 Trump said of Carly Fiorina: โLook at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!โ He then added, โI mean, sheโs a woman, and Iโm not sโposedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?โ
On November 13, 2015, according to The Atlantic, Trump said of Dr. Ben Carsonโs conversion to Christianity, โGive me a break. It doesnโt happen that way. Some people may not like it. Oh, thatโs not nice. Donโt be fools. Donโt be fools, okay.โ Then he went on to say of the media that reported his comments: โI can leave this scum back here, the press, aloneโI wonโt need them anymore. Theyโre garbage. No, theyโre scum.โ
Again and again during the debates Trump has deprecated his Republican opponents, for example calling Marco Rubio โLittle Marcoโ and Ted Cruz โLying Ted.โ His remarks about Jeb Bush were even more offensive. He has called him โa stiff,โ โan embarrassment to his family,โ โa desperate person,โ โa sad person who has gone absolutely crazy,โ and โa nervous wreck.โ
One of the few characteristics that exceeds Trumpโs diminishing of others is his self-congratulation. Consider these comments attributed to him.
โThe beauty of me is that Iโm very rich.โ
โMy IQ is one of the highestโand you all know it! Please donโt feel so stupid or insecure; itโs not your fault.โ
โLook at those hands, are they small hands? And [Republican rival Marco Rubio] referred to my hands: โIf theyโre small, something else must be small.โ I guarantee you thereโs no problem. I guarantee.โ
โAll of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me โ consciously or unconsciously. Thatโs to be expected.โ
โI will build a great wall โ and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me โ and Iโll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.โ
Perhaps the most tasteless example of Trumpโs boasting occurred during his March 8 Michigan acceptance speech. Behind the podium flanking about ten American flags were two table displays of a variety of Trump products. In his remarks, Trump managed to mention them and others, including Trump Magazine, Trump steaks, Trump water company, Trump golf courses, Trump university, Trump on Time magazine covers, and Trump airline,.
The extravagance of both Trumpโs denigration of others and his boasting about himself may call to mind the vulgar ravings of โprofessionalโ wrestlers. There is good reason for this. Trump had a long association with Vince McMahon and Wrestlemania. Among its notable moments was the โBattle of the Billionairesโ which featured a slapping match between the two entrepreneurs with the winner, Trump, shaving the loserโs hair before a cheering crowd. In 2013 Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, an award somewhat less prestigious than Barack Obamaโs Nobel Peace Prize.
Comedians could have a field day with Trumpโs association with professional wrestling. (Vince McMahon as VP or perhaps Secretary of Defense?) The rest of us, however, would do better to wonder whether the votersโ resentment of the GOP Establishment has gone far enough, and whether it is time for the carnival to be closed and the serious business of choosing a nominee be taken seriously.
Copyright ยฉ 2016 by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. All rights reserved