"Trump? Hm. Here's what I know about Trump: Rich guy in New York real estate, Billionaire. Into Casinos and boxing. Odd hair. New York voice. Odd personality. Was on a reality show called "The Apprentice", though I have never seen an episode or even a single scene. But I do know the "You're Fired." catchphrase that everyone knew. That caught on, didn't it?
I did have one thing in particular that made me realize just how 'American' Donald Trump might really be, as opposed to him simply polishing his brand to make a buck.
I saw a Larry King Live interview with Trump from 1987, and Trump came across as a genuine conservative to me.
In particular, I remember there was a part of the interview where Trump described the utter disrespect America and Americans were subjected to all over the world and especially in the Middle East where we were viewed as rubes or patsies (I don't remember the exact words, but that is a sense of it.) But it sure did burn inside the Billionaire Donald Trump, and you could see it in his eyes how much he didn't like it.
But the thing is, when he voiced that sentiment, he didn't sound like a guy who came from an uber-rich trust fund nest, he sounded a lot like me and many people like me. He sounded like an American, not some rich celebrity polishing his brand or a foreign stooge of some sort.
So, Trump for President in 2016?
Well, he's an American, I believe that. If he did run, I wouldn't know for sure what to make of his motives, because I don't know much about him, but it is possible he could be a Barnum type showman buffing his own brand. I can't rule that out. But if he was serious about running...well. He certainly made money in a very cutthroat business environment, which I respect. You can't be a total zero if you can come out ahead there. And the guy hates things that I hate about our national and international relationships.
So, yeah. I don't think he would be my first choice, because hear we are, 2014, and the candidates are still unclear, so I might go with someone more mainstream like Cruz. But if Trump looked like he was going to win the nomination and did win it, yes. I could support him. One caveat, he would have to prove to me that he was more interested in being Ronald Reagan than P.T. Barnum. I assume that would be evident fairly quickly if he did nothing at all except strut around on the Presidential stage without accomplishing anything, and I would find out rapidly just how wrong I was.
Heck. How could that in any way be worse than what we have been seeing in the likes of McCain and Romney? Pfft. As I talk this through, yes. I could get behind Trump."
I have been curious about how many people saw it the way I did. Heck, there are people who would get behind a candidate no matter what, and others who will do so hesitatingly or reluctantly. There are always those on all sides.
Ditto. Was not all in on Trump in the 2016 primary. Things have changed since.
I saw it that way as well. When he first announced he was running I figured it was a publicity stunt. I thought he would run away as soon as his provocative comments about immigration were highlighted. But to my surprise he doubled and tripled down on them.
So I switched over from Cruz. Fairweather fan of either one; I would support Trump for as long as he upheld various conservative views.
In 2015 I started the President Trump Channel on DISQUS. By the time we were deplatformed 5 years later, it had 275k followers.
It's been said he gets along as well with the construction crew as he does with the office types, maybe more so. He started off fairly small fixing up and renting apt buildings so the blue collar guys are who he dealt with in those days before the fame. I'm from the NE so I remember him from the 70s/80s as well.