Posted on 04/14/2011 9:17:13 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Listening to and watching Donald Trump talk with Fox News’s Sean Hannity about how rich he is and how smart he is was truly a vomit-inducing moment. The notion that this extremely successful egomaniac would ever be President of the United States is surreal. It’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington on steroids.
Now we learn that he is going to announce whether he is going to run on the season finale of “The Apprentice.” The show is scheduled to air on May 15. Reportedly he will hold a press conference to announce the decision about being a candidate in the Trump Tower in New York “a few days after” the finale.
This is such a naked sham for the purpose of getting lots of viewers for his show that it should be embarrassing to everyone who has, even momentarily, taken his phony “campaign” to gain the Republican Party’s nomination seriously. Hannity was snookered or, more likely, he was using Trump to hype his show’s ratings and vice versa. In a similar fashion, Fox’s Greta Van Susteren has of late used Trump appearances for her show.
Just as I and others cautioned voters in 2008 that Barack Obama was a completely unknown quantity with a totally fabricated life story, it behooves me to warn voters to GET SERIOUS about Trump.
Running the nation requires credentials that go well beyond being a successful businessman. America has coast-to-coast successful businessmen and women, but if a company’s CEO makes bad decisions, the Board of Directors can fire them. You can’t say “You’re fired!” to the President of the United States until the next election.
Let me get the formalities out of the way. I am not jealous of Donald Trump because he’s rich. Much of the population is richer than me and I could not care less. I understand that Trump has exhibited considerable business acumen, but that is not the same as political acumen, nor does it suggest that it prepares him to deal with heads of state and the nasty events that occur; frequently unexpectedly.
Nor has everything Trump has put his name to been a great success. He gambled on gambling in Atlantic City and that was a bad bet. Fortunately he owed the banks so much money he could write his own ticket. In fairness, all the casinos took a bath. Instead of gambling, the few people visiting Atlantic City these days are there to buy its famous salt water taffy.
Trump is a strident self-promoter. He is bombast. He lacks subtlety which, for his line of work may be a good thing, but for someone to whom we would have to trust the future of the nation, what he lacks most is the experience that a professional politician acquires over time. I hate to admit this, but it is true. The lack of this experience and judgment is blindingly apparent in the current White House resident.
Trump wants to win—all the time. Politicians want to survive with their principles reasonably intact and a fat government pension. It is a whole different mindset. The ones the voters reject tend to become lobbyists.
We have a history of presidents who just stunk up the job because they came to it as engineers like Hoover and Carter or Ivory Tower scholars like Wilson. For a long time, Americans elected a succession of generals because the president’s job was mostly about expanding the size of the nation, generally by shooting our way to the West Coast, or fending off Barbary Pirates, yet another of Thomas Jefferson’s many achievements.
Presidents become celebrities AFTER they’ve been in the office. Few are celebrities going in unless, like Obama, their celebrity is totally manufactured by skilled public relations professionals. After two years in the job, the only things we know for sure about Obama is that he’s a moron, probably a Muslim, and definitely a Marxist.
If you want business acumen, Mitt Romney has it to spare. True, he’s a bit of a RINO, but it’s hard to find a Republican these days who isn’t. Gov. Pawlenty is a politician and that is not a bad thing. Gov. Huckabee was a politician, but is now a successful anchor of his own show on Fox News. He is going to stay put. Rep. Bachman is the political equivalent of your ex-wife, smart and, like Trump, impossible to shut up. There’s a reason we haven’t heard from Sarah Palin lately and that’s because she’s smart enough to not want the job.
I guarantee you that, within one month of his inaugural, you would be kicking yourself for voting for Trump. His incessant need to demonstrate he knows best and is the greatest president ever would be the mirror image of Barack Obama’s crazed ideology.
Right now Trump is a novelty, a distraction, a false hope. There’s plenty of time for the campaign process to sort out who will be the Republican choice. My bet is that Trump will announce he’s not running. If I am wrong, the happiest man in America will be Barack Obama.
he is pro life (now)
Me too. LOL.
Good night.
It’s Ross Perot with bad hair.
It's not such tough a choice. Trump is actually much more conservative than every single one of the white males currently on the list of 2012 potential candidates
1) We can pick any of the anti-American, limp-wristed RINOs who will promise to quit their treason, then will promptly stab us in the back again, and the USA will go into the dustbin of history with a faux Republican at the helm.
2) We can pick Sarah Palin, the only pro-American, commonsense, Constitutional conservative Republican on the national scene, and probably the best candidate for president the country has seen in over two centuries. Only problem is that there are too many nutless, gutless, faux macho, insecure, moronic men, who are too stupid to see beyond their own inadequacies to vote for a woman who is twice the man that they are.
3) We can pick Trump; not really conservative; not really ethical; but pro-American and wealthy enough to speak the truth without caring what the communist media might say about him. And for the nutless, gutless macho wimps, Trump is a man, sort of. He has a personal interest in saving the USA, and that should be sufficient for anyone with better than room temperature IQ.
4) Or we can keep whining that none of them are quite perfect enough, roll over and die, and let the USA disappear into a thousand years of darkness under a combined communist/muslim satanic reign of terror.
Potential 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate
Business Magnate Donald Trump on the Issues
Trump on Abortion
• Donald Trump is pro life.
• Although Trump opposes abortion he respects the rights of women to make their own choices.
• The only abortion procedure Trump feels should be banned in partial birth abortion.
Trump on Afghanistan
• Donald Trump thinks we should withdraw from Afghanistan as soon as possible.
• He said that giving a withdrawal date was “a stupid mistake”,
• He believes now that the Taliban knows when the U.S. will withdraw, they will merely wait for us to go and re-take the country.
Trump on the Budget
• Donald Trump thinks that if something isn’t done soon, we’ll have a crash worse than that of 1929.
• In 1999, he proposed taxing the rich with a one-time 14.25% tax to erase the national debt, which he still thinks is a good idea.
• He said that such a plan would save billions annually in interest payments.
• Eliminating debt would boost the economy 35% and income taxes could be lowered.
Trump on Business & Labor
• Trump believes the biggest danger to both business and labor is China.
• He believes that we are rebuilding China instead of taking care of our own country.
• Trumps thinks that If we’d alter our trade policies, we could pay off the debt and start creating more jobs right here.
Trump on Capital Punishment
• Donald Trump says that anyone who takes a life should forfeit their own.
• He said criminals have declared war on decent people and lethal injection is too comfortable.
• 100% of the people executed will never commit another crime.
• He thinks that capital punishment also serves as a deterrent for some.
• Trumps believes that judges should be held accountable for their sentencing. Pedophiles, drunk drivers, murderers and other criminals are often are set free to prey again because of light sentencing.
• He wants to stop the victim culture and recognize what criminals are—bad people who prey on good people and they should be punished as harshly as possible.
Trump on China
• Trump says we give way too many advantages to China and they're laughing at how easy it is to take advantage of the U.S.
• He thinks that we should tax all imports from China 25%. That would encourage buying American and balance out the trade deficit.
• Human rights are important - if the Chinese are oppressed, then there shouldn't be much of a market for US goods. We are betraying our principles by allowing them to violate basic rights of their people.
• We should not keep our markets open to countries that oppress their people or steal from us.
• He said that the US makes better products but China manipulates their currency so people almost have to buy Chinese products to stay in business.
• China makes it nearly impossible to do business there but wants our technology and for Americans to buy their products.
Trump on Civil Liberties
• Trump believes diversity is good and has made this country what it is.
• Crimes against people for their race, sexual orientation, religion, etc should be prosecuted as hate crimes with more punitive penalties than random crimes.
• He thinks that big government is the worst threat to civil liberties. Government scrutiny of private individuals is a real threat and curtails liberties. Government should keep to public works and safety and limit itself to that.
Trump on the Deficit
• Donald Trump believes that the deficit would be greatly reduced if government would stay out of things in which it doesn’t do well, which is a very long list.
• He would take the government out of providing public conveniences such as farm subsidies, food safety, energy regulations and transportation and limit it to defending the constitution and our shores. This will save billions, even trillions.
Trump on the Economy
• Trump believes raising taxes is foolish seeing that the US is the highest taxed nation in the world.
• He thinks the economy would improve if we would charge the countries we protect.
Trump on Energy
• Trump thinks we should use our natural resources to solve our energy problems while helping the economy.
• He believes that the US has so much oil in our ocean and we should get it.
• He thinks that we don't use much of our natural gas but we should.
• He said that Abu Dhabi has plenty of oil but just went to natural gas because they want us to buy oil at ridiculous prices. Unless we use our natural resources we’ll always be prisoners of OPEC.
Trump on Foreign Affairs
• Donald Trump wants the US to quit appeasing dictators.
• He knows that foreign policy is not as easy as drawing up a general plan, be thinks we should be deal-makers instead of chess players.
• Deal-makers can put our interests first, know when to back off, when to be tough and never settle for less than America deserves.
• Trump believes that if countries want our help they should have something to give in return other than vague promises of 'working toward democracy'. They need us more than we need them; we should use our leverage to benefit everyone but especially ourselves.
Trump on Gun Control
• Donald Trump generally opposes gun control.
• He thinks that every law abiding citizen should have a gun if they want to.
• Trump believes that assault weapons should be banned, “who needs them except criminals and police?”
• He wants a longer waiting period for hand guns, rifles and shotguns. We should be able to tell within 72 hours if a person has a record or mental issues that would prohibit ownership.
Trump on Health Care
• Donald Trump believes that people should have access to affordable health care.
• He has advocated a single payer system in the past but believes the new health care law is unconstitutional and so costly that it will bankrupt the country.
Trump on Immigration
• Donald Trump thinks that legal immigration should be difficult and illegal immigration should be impossible.
• He believes that we can’t absorb all the illegals and thinks that they’re destroying our economy.
• He wants to take care of our own people first. We’re bankrupting our states with illegals that take advantage of hospital emergency rooms, entitlement programs and public education.
Trump on Iran
• Donald Trump believes that our soldiers have no business in the Middle East.
Trump on Iraq
• Trump believes we should withdraw from Iraq and the Middle East.
• He would not be in Iraq unless our own interests are directly threatened.
• Trump would not offer humanitarian intervention.
Trump on Israel
• Donald Trump maintains that Israel is our best friend.
• He thinks we should do everything we can to protect Israel
• He believes that Israel should be the cornerstone of our policy in the region.
• They’ve always been there for us and we should be there for them. They are the only stable democracy in the region that is not run by dictators. They are pioneers in medicine and communication and a close fair trading partner.
Trump on National Security
• Trump believes that America is ill prepared for a biological attack.
• He would prepare for biological attack by stockpiling and rotating antibiotics and other remedies while training emergency workers.
• He thinks that there should be sensors in major cities for early warning of biological devices activated.
• He thinks that the public should be educated to reduce panic if an attack occurs.
Trump on North Korea
• Trump believes that we should stop North Korean nukes by force if necessary.
Trump on Poverty
• Trump believes that teen moms should not receive assistance unless they meet tough requirements. Living in group homes might reduce further pregnancies by lending moral support.
• He said that there are many people that work out of churches, temples or on their own who want to care for the poor and disadvantaged—let them, and restrict public assistance.
• He thinks that states, cities and counties should partner with faith-based charitable organizations and others. He believes that communities should work together instead of depending on public assistance.
Trump on Same Sex Issues
• Donald Trump is not in favor of same sex marriage.
Trump is even worse than Romney, imo. He endorsed Hillary and Charlie Crist, and recently contributed to Schumer. I heard in his book, he is for single payer health insurance. He left his wife, and tried to throw an old woman out of her home for his casino (he lost that case).
Then he says he will run as a 3rd party canadidate if he doesn’t get the nomination. Is he trying to help Obama win?
“Trump may be a democrat Trojan Horse.”
It’s looking that way, but he’s a heck of a good actor. I hope people don’t buy it.
The author’s wrong on several points of reasoning. With all due respect to engineers and scholars, that’s not the same as an entrepreneurial businessman (and first-rate negotiator). And having the “credentials” of being an experienced politician isn’t a great recommendation in these dangerous times - IMHO.
I, too, thought the Trump interview was quite good and can’t wait to see part 2 tomorrow night.
(I also felt better after hearing him explain more about the third party question.)
“Trump wants to win all the time... they say that as if it is a bad thing.. that is kinda something i would like to see in a president..”
YES, in a president who’s fighting for us Americans (which I believe Trump would be - it’s his country, too).
BHO wants to win all the time as well - but he’s playing for the wrong team, fighting on the wrong side - and this is NOT his country.
Whatevuh!
I like Trump but he ain’t running.
How about we AND the candidate?! They didn’t start calling her Barracuda for nothing. Thing is, she’s not in it for the show. She’s in it for us, and for her own family, and most of all for her sense of duty to God and country. At the end of the day, she’ll out-tough them all. We just have to be tough too and not get taken in by the Used Car Salesman in Chief. He didn’t bring us to this dance. She did, and those like her. We’ve got to stick together for just a little while longer. Keep hope. This can end well, if we keep faith with our principles and the leaders who best exemplify them.
If elected, The Donald will do everything in his power to increase the value of property (both his and ours), and increase the value of the US dollar (both his and ours). At this point in time, nothing else matters. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
RomneyBOT touts RomneyCARE for all of us.
RomneyBOT touts fascist Romney for all of us.
RomneyBOT touts Bishop Romney to decide for all of us.
RomneyBOT touts RomneyMarriage by Romney for all of us.
Mitt Romney: Obama was born in the United States
============
Romney to Trump: Obama Doesn’t Need a Birth Certificate
============
Romney on Obama: 'The citizenship test has been passed'
So, right now we have an extremely unsuccessful egomaniac as pres__ent. And somehow, that is better to Mr. Caruba.
Trump talks a good line, but I’d just like to see more of him first. Let’s see him in a few debates, where he’s really pressed on his views.
Lately his talk of running third party has be totally turned off. I lived through the Perot fiasco and don’t want to see it happen again ...would be ultra devastating this time ...
I just want someone who can beat this JERK we have now.
Honestly, I’m not even sure there will be an election, however, at this point.
The election is a year and a half away, and the primaries are a year away, so there’s plenty of time to watch the circus. I’m not jumping on any bandwagon yet.
As for whether there will be an election at all, keep in mind that there were people who were convinced that Clinton would call off the 2000 election. Of course, Obama is an order of magnitude worse than Clinton.
Assuming he runs, Trump at least is starting by seeking a major party nomination, something Perot didn’t bother to do.
This will be an election like no other, and I don’t think conventional wisdom will offer much guidance.
What’s “vomit inducing” is watching you liberals fall allover themselves trying to cover up for the incompetent hack you elected as president.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.