One of these to watch is The Donald. To be clear, I am coming into this race with a clean slate. I never knew much about him before except what he looked like, that he was rich, married several times to European women and had some TV show where he got to say “You’re fired”. That’s it. So when I saw him during the first couple months of his campaign I was appalled and then a bit cynical. How could a man who comes across as a blustering blowhard, a childish name caller, an egomaniac, an instigator, even be considered for the presidency? With the actual election being so far away, the more interesting question was, how did he make it in business with this puerile personality?
The answer is; he didn’t. The Trump we saw in the beginning has mellowed considerably since his bizarre descent on the escalator. We have watched him go from a cartoonish cult of personality to an occasionally reasonable human being for a millisecond, and he is still evolving, much to the dismay of the extreme right and the ultra extreme Tea Party.
Recently, I have seen him doing talk shows and sounding rational. No shouting, name calling, interrupting, smirking…he even looks like he is listening to the person across from him. The biggest surprise was when I heard a bit of compassion come out of his mouth. This got me wondering again; Who is this man? Obviously he cannot be the crazy guy we saw in the beginning or he would never have made so many “good deals” in his professional life. So I did some digging and was shocked to find out some things, things that make a lot more sense for a person well liked in the business community.*
Here is a brief comparison of the pre and post candidacy of Donald Trump.
· In 1999 he stated he was very pro-choice. "I hate the concept of abortion," he said. "I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. ... but I just believe in choice.” Then in January of this year during an interview with Bloomberg, Trump said, "I'm pro-life and I have been pro-life." He said he believed there should be exceptions in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother. (Which for me is a whole other can of worms that I will tackle later)At the conservative CPAC conference in February, he stated, “I am now pro-life; after years of being pro-choice.”
· In his book “The America We Deserve” Trump wrote that he generally opposed gun control but supported a ban on assault weapons and a longer waiting period. At the 2015 NRA-ILA Leadership Forum, Trump said if he became president, "the 2nd Amendment will be totally protected." He said he does "not support expanding background checks" and said current background checks "don't work."
· On Larry King’s show in 1999 Trump said he was "very liberal when it comes to health care" and that he believes in "universal healthcare,” and yet he called Obamacare "a disaster called the big lie" during his announcement to run, adding that the deductibles were so high they were virtually useless.
· Trump changed his party from Republican to Independent in 1999, and switched again to Democrat in 2001. Has been a registered Republican since 2009.
·
1990; “We’re losing badly (sic) the war on drugs. You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars.” (This is one issue he has not waivered on, but is included to illustrate a liberal viewpoint).
1990; “We’re losing badly (sic) the war on drugs. You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars.” (This is one issue he has not waivered on, but is included to illustrate a liberal viewpoint).
· In 1999, Trump suggested the government collect $5.7 trillion in new revenue by levying a one-time tax on all individuals and trusts worth more than $10 million. With that revenue, Trump hoped that the federal government could cut taxes on the middle class and save Social Security. Yes, Donald Trump called for a 14/25% tax on America's richest people.
If you think this is all ancient history, let’s look at what he has said in the last few months, things in addition to the above:
· He believes affirmative action to be a good thing and you should not be able to fire someone because of their sexual orientation.
· With the exception of abortion, he would fund Planned Parenthood.
· He is against a flat tax.
· He favors a ban on all assault weapons.
· He does not “fully believe” in supply side economics.
· Germany should take the lead in the Ukraine.
· He wants to stay out of wars that do not present a "direct threat" to the U.S.
So what is the explanation for this man’s duel persona?
For the conspiracy minded, Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida has fodder. "I think there's a small possibility that this gentleman is a phantom candidate," Curbelo told Miami radio host Roberto Tejera in July. "Mr. Trump has a close friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton. They were at his last wedding. He has contributed to the Clintons' foundation. He has contributed to Mrs. Clinton's Senate campaigns. All of this is very suspicious." He believes Trump to be a “candidate recruited by the left to create this entire political circus.”
I personally have a couple ideas (and would love to hear from Dear Reader). One is that Trump has known from the beginning he could not win but is such an attention whore that he wanted to have a bit of fun. Once he realized he was a viable candidate, he has begun to take this more seriously and is slowly dropping the buffoon act.
Another thought; Perhaps he planned it like this all along. Begin by catering to the most radical on the right and slowly transform into someone moderates can support, meanwhile keeping his most outrageous ideas (Mexico paying for a boarder wall) alive to string along the hard core conservatives.
Whatever his reasons or motivations are, it is of utmost importance that every voter know all the facts and history of each candidate. If Donald Trump truly is liberal then the conservatives need to know this before they vote him into office and find they got a raw deal, though from a selfish standpoint I can think of nothing more satisfying.
* Jeb Bush is on the scent too, having made a video that highlights old and recent Democratic-leaning statements by Donald Trump. The video, dubbed "The Real Donald Trump," includes clips of Trump saying he is "very pro-choice" and that "in many cases I probably identify more as a Democrat."
** People magazine said that the guest list included former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and media and entertainment personalities like Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Simon Cowell, Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa, Star Jones and Barbara Walters.
Sources: Reuters, Washington Post, Bloomberg, New York Times, MSNBC, Chicago Tribune, Politifact, Daily Mail, Miami Herald, Mother Jones.
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