Miami Herald (Opinion)
By Carl Hiaasen
July 11, 2015
Before
one more straight-faced political story is written about the
presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, the obvious begs to be stated:
The man has absolutely no chance
of winning.
Zero. Nada.
Write it down. Take it to the bank. Bet the farm.
This
preening self-parody of an egomaniac will never, ever be elected
president of the United States. He has more baggage than all the
Kardashians put together, and less
class. The only way he could win is if the Democrats nominate Bill
Cosby.
Anyone
who manages to defame an entire Hispanic nationality on his first day
of campaigning will, inevitably, offend practically everybody. The
early Republican polls
showing Trump in second position behind Jeb Bush are hilarious — and
meaningless.
Trump
wears thin fast on voters. He isn’t the sharpest tack in the corkboard,
but he has brains enough to know he can’t possibly capture his party’s
nomination, much less
the White House. So why is he running?
Many
think it’s to boost the value of his “brand.” Trump is known for
licensing his name to real-estate projects that he doesn’t plan, own,
develop or manage. Basically
you pay him for the right to hang the T-word on your building.
Some
investors actually go for this. More than 180 of them put down deposits
for the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Fort Lauderdale
starting in 2005. They thought
Trump was the developer because that’s what the advertising said.
Unfortunately,
the actual developers were led by a convicted felon and ex-FBI
informant named Felix Sater, who put together a partnership that did
other name-licensing
ventures with Trump (at least two have gone into foreclosure).
At
the time the Fort Lauderdale Trump Tower began to rise, Sater had just
pleaded guilty in a $40-million securities swindle involving Mafia
members. Sater’s files had
been sealed by a New York judge, so investors were unaware of the case.
The
Fort Lauderdale project tanked. Trump took his name off of it when he
stopped getting paid. Trump was later acquitted of engaging in deceptive
business practices,
a case that’s being appealed. Most buyers recouped part of their down
payments in out-of-court settlements.
This
is one of many stories that will resurface during Trump’s dead-end
candidacy, raising questions about his judgment and greed. If you sell
your name to a mob-connected
felon who is peddling condos, it’s not enough to claim you “didn’t know
him very well.”
That makes you sound lazy and careless, not ideal branding for a future president.
Philip
Bump of the Washington Post has half-seriously suggested that Trump
might really be running to sabotage the Republican Party and help
Hillary Clinton, to whom he
has donated generously.
Trump
wasn’t always a conservative Republican. In the not-too distant past he
advocated higher taxes for the wealthy, drug legalization and a
single-payer healthcare system.
He was also pro-choice.
Still,
to believe Trump is on a sly mission to cause mayhem in the GOP gives
him too much credit. His “birther” crusade against Democrat Barack Obama
was authentically
hateful.
Likewise,
his recent “rapists” rant about Mexican immigrants was so toxic that it
had to be unscripted, the sentiment coming from somewhere deep inside.
(“I love the Mexican
people!” he brayed belatedly to Anderson Cooper).
The
rapist comment will go down as one of the stupidest political ad libs
ever. Three minutes into his campaign, Trump destroyed any possibility
of winning the Hispanic
vote in this country, which is crucial.
The fact he won’t apologize tells you how vain and short-sighted he is.
If
Trump lasts until the major primaries (he tends to quit early), he’ll
get some votes but not nearly enough. By then, other Republican
candidates will be gunning for
him, with abundant ammunition.
Running
a beauty pageant isn’t the same as running the war against ISIS. Nor
does hosting Celebrity Apprentice qualify as practice for choosing a
Cabinet, unless the country
is ready for Gary Busey as the secretary of Defense.
Since
there’s no chance Trump will be on the ballot in 2016, why are we
writing about him? He’s loud, self-bloated and obnoxious — but he’ll
probably make the cut for
the upcoming GOP debates.
In
past election years he was an entertaining sideshow. The gaseous way he
exaggerated his wealth. His roadkill hair-do. The inane bombast.
But now that he’s trashing minorities, Trump is not so amusing — not to Univision, NBC Universal, Macy’s or even the PGA.
And
not to most Americans, who don’t pick presidents based on how many
condo towers bear their name. Trump is one that now stands for something
cold and ugly.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment