Donald’s last Trump card: his candidacy

There is a growing sense that Donald Trump’s intention to run for the President of the United States as a fiscal and social conservative candidate is merely a great marketing ploy for his acclaimed reality TV show Celebrity Apprentice. More ratings equals a bigger profile which ultimately means he can slap the Trump banner on future projects at an increased price – he is a businessman after all.

But hang on a second. He made a speech at the Conservative Political Action Committee, is touring New Hampshire (a key swing state), has promulgated (false) personal attacks on the incumbent President and a recent Gallup Poll tied him for first place (with Mike Huckabee) with 16% of support among likely Republican voters. Not to mention that he is the biggest enemy the Republican Party faces, outshining most of the current crop of the GOP’s hopeful runners: one in four Americans identify Trump as the Republican candidate they have heard most about.

Nevertheless, before we start envisaging a Trump–Obama face off, we need to be realistic about his credentials. It is not abnormal for there to be early pacesetters in Presidential races with their over-excitement sometimes being attributed to their lack of experience and substance. Therefore, what they fail to possess in political acumen, they try and make up for in fanfare and desperate media appearances.

Trump prides himself on getting things done and making hugely successful deals. While not the sturdiest political platform to stand on, we should at least humour him by creating a tableau of a potential manifesto. With regard to social issues, he is fairly uncontroversial by Republican standards – being pro-life and against gay marriage.

Other stances include a militarised border with Mexico, less regulation on Wall Street and, surprisingly enough, a belief that government should bear some responsibility for health care provision.

However, where insanity suddenly makes a long overdue appearance is in the realms of Foreign Policy. Trump is of the opinion that America is getting thoroughly and utterly screwed by China and the Opec countries. While the assertion may not be so far from the truth, his solution conjures up images of the Sheikhs and Wen Jiabao getting some ‘Apprentice treatment’ within the boardroom. Firstly, his policy on getting Americans back to work centres on a 25 percent tax on China unless they behave (i.e. de-value).

Threatening its largest trading partner which holds over a trillion dollars of US debt is a bold statement, to say the least. With regard to Opec, Donald has publicly warned the member states not to raise the price of oil, citing US ‘protection’ of the Saudi regime as reason enough to stop picking on American Hummer drivers.

The main issue here is his reference to American protection. I personally think ‘bribery’ is a more appropriate description, but we can use your word, Donald. His diplomatic prowess suffers another blow when he insists on repeatedly letting the cat out of the bag with regard to US acquisition of Iraq’s oil – ‘to the winner go the spoils’ is not exactly subtle.

Finally, no rant on Trump is complete without glancing at his supposedly innocent claim that the first African American President was not born on American soil. While Trump revelled in his ability to make the President show his papers, it does hark back to a time when African Americans always had to carry their ‘papers’ to satisfy police officers. Does it make Trump a racist? I couldn’t care less.

Though it does remind us that America has, will and always will be a society dominated by race. One needs only to look at recent actions of Tea Party activists who wave racist placards and spit on black Congressmen.

I shall leave you with the words of noted political commentator Snoop Dogg regarding Donald Trump’s White House ambition: ‘Why not? It wouldn’t be the first time he’s pushed a black family out of their home’.