What does Trump really stand for?
The way I see it, if on Nov. 8, I’ve suffered 200 hours of sleep deprivation; I arrive at my local polling place in a drunken stupor; a poll worker hands me a blindfold, and a six-digit cashier’s check – I may pull the lever for Trump!
I’m beginning to understand his lure.
Donald J. Trump is a man who’s forged his candidacy through his unbending will and determination to “Make America Great Again.”
He has chiseled his political philosophy into the very psyche of this country, like it’s a block of granite – except when he doesn’t.
There are times when his political philosophy seems so flimsy and muddled, that you should forget that granite. It’s more like it’s scrawled into a block of Jell-O.
Back in March Trump raised eyebrows among his Republican brethren when he told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that he thought women who get abortions should be “punished.”
It’s the kind of thing that makes conservatives squirm, but Trump’s loyal followers cheer.
After a day or two of Trump getting pummeled in the media, and mostly by Republicans, Trump issued a couple of “clarifications.”
Well last week Trump offered yet another “clarification,” which is more confusing than any of his previous “clarifications.”
“I didn’t mean punishment for women like prison. I’m saying women punish themselves,” he said. “I didn’t want people to think in terms of ‘prison’ punishment. And because of that I walked it back.”
I think what he really means is pick one of my clarifications, for now, and I’ll get back to you with another one in a few days.
Since Trump has been the presumptive nominee, he’s finding that his chiseled-in-granite approach is unsettling for many Republicans in Congress who’d have to make decisions based on his proposals if he wins the presidency.
Back on Dec. 7 Trump proclaimed, “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”
That was met with fits of delirium at every subsequent Trump rally.
It’s caused many Republican office holders to distance themselves from him.
But candidate Trump, now being “presumptive nominee” Trump, has altered that proclamation.
He now calls it a “suggestion.”
I can’t wait until Trump alters that jaw-dropping proposal to build that Mexico/U.S. wall, by saying that he really read it in a fortune cookie.
But Trump’s biggest campaign “adjustment” has something to do with the way he’s about to pay for his general election campaign.
There’s talk that it could cost Trump, and the Democratic nominee as much as a billion dollars.
So far, Trump claims that he’s kicked in about $50 million of his own money.
But he’ll need a lot more.
Keep in mind, he’s built his entire campaign on the fact that he’s not beholden to anybody.
“By self-funding my campaign, I am not controlled by my donors, special interests or lobbyists. I am only working for the people of the U.S.,” he’s boasted in the past.
Forget that.
To run a nationwide campaign, he’ll have to start raising money the old fashioned way – through rich donors.
In fact, he’s scheduled to go begging for money later this week in Los Angeles, where there’s expected to be cocktails, dinner and a photo line, for well-wishers and, of course, wealthy donors.
The event will be held at the home of billionaire Thomas Barrack, Jr., a real estate magnate, who had business dealings with Trump back in the 1980s.
Of course, Trump will need to twist the arms of many rich business associates, who’ll offer their money – the same way he did to political candidates before he decided to run for president.
Trump knew what he was doing. Those donors know what they’re doing, too.
Trump talks a good game about not being at the mercy of wealthy special interests, but here he is, hat in hand, making the same overtures he claims he despises.
I’ve changed my mind.
There’s no way I’d ever vote for this guy.
Edward A. Owens is a three-time Emmy Award winner and 20-year veteran of television news. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net