Donald Trump has a fantastic PR team. This week, the conductors of the Trump train had to battle news about Muammar Qaddaffi/Qadafi/Quadaffi/Gaddafi/Gadhafi in Libya and the catastrophe in Japan to somehow squeeze The Donald into the public eye. It’s old news by now that Trump is considering a presidential run, but nobody has taken him seriously due to his past “presidential campaigns.” Trump worked hard this week, however, to convince the American public that he’s qualified to be the leader of the free world.
On Tuesday night, Comedy Central aired a roast of the business mogul featuring jabs from “Jersey Shore”’s The Situation, who absolutely bombed, Snoop Dogg and Seth MacFarlane. The decision to volunteer to be “roasted” was a clever step toward appearing more approachable and engaged in popular culture. The roast was clearly designed to be the opening act for the big show that came later in the week. After an attempt to win over the Comedy Central demographic, Trump was featured on “Good Morning America” in an interview on Thursday. While aboard his private jet, Trump talked about himself to ABC News’ Ashleigh Banfield…for five hours.
The (thankfully) edited segment that was featured on the show Thursday morning featured Trump offering half-answers to why he wants to run for president and what qualifies him to be a candidate. For example, Trump said one advantage he has over the GOP competition is his wealth. “Part of the beauty of me is that I’m very rich. So, if I need $600 million, I can put up $600 million myself,” he said. “That’s a huge advantage.” What more do we need to know? I don’t know about you, folks, but I’d rather not be bothered with a president who can relate to me, or even cares about my financial difficulties. I mean, if Trump is as rich as he says he is, our financial crisis could be resolved the week after we elect him into the White House.
He’ll just pay for all the government programs out of pocket. Problem solved! For those who still doubt The Donald would be a good president, he has presented his ideas on some more serious issues. On pirates off the African coast, Trump had this to say: “Give me an admiral and a couple of ships, I would wipe them out of the sea so fast.” Hmm…blind bravado. Sounds a lot like a certain Republican president a few years back who started a war for no reason and launched the country into crushing debt. Though a similar take-no-prisoners personality might charm Republican voters, it could very well turn off the rest of the country. It would be wise for Trump to dial back the ego.
Further on in the interview, Trump also decides to drink the birther Kool-Aid and question if Obama was born in America. He does it in a way that appeals to the Tea Partiers, while still bringing attention to himself. On Obama’s origin, Trump said, “Anybody who gives any hint of being a ‘birther’…is labeled as an idiot. Let me tell you, I’m a really smart guy. I was a really good student at the best school in the country [the University of Pennsylvania]. The reason I have a little doubt is because he grew up and nobody knew him…if I decide to run, you may go back and interview people in kindergarten and they’ll remember me. Nobody ever knew who [Obama was] until later on in his life. It’s very strange.”
Like all birther arguments, Trump makes no sense in doubting whether Obama was born in the United States. The Donald says that he thinks the Tea Party movement is made up of people who have common sense, but common sense tells me that the White House isn’t dumb enough to overlook something as big as candidates’ nationalities. I’m pretty sure that the FBI could look up something as simple as a birth certificate. It can, after all, be accessed by the public. But I digress.
At any rate, this discussion doesn’t matter because Trump isn’t serious about running. He only wants publicity for the new season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” For starters, every presidential candidate has to file a personal finance disclosure within 30 days of registering with the FEC. Trump, be warned. Additionally, Trump has donated money to many Democratic political campaigns over the years, in addition to Republican campaigns. Apparently he’s not even sure which party he belongs to. The question will be whether or not Republican voters are willing to overlook his sketchy past and lack of political qualifications. Who knows? They’ve done it before, they could do it again.
Emily O’Donnell is a sophomore at the College of Communication and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at emilyod@bu.edu.
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Hi,
” It can, after all, be accessed by the public…”
Where can I see his long form birth certificate? Who is the doctor that gave birth to him?
Thank you,
Don
Not only is the birth certificate fiasco a joke…….but why would anyone insist their educational records be sealed unless something is wrong there. He is hiding something. Very unusual as Mr. Trump would say…..and I agree. Then you have to look at all the czars and the fact that new laws are passed without being read…..whats up with that? Scary dude gets away with alot if you ask me…..If you an I want to work at McDonalds….we have everything looked at including drug tests….but this guy is accountable to who? It stinks……..