Weigel

Debunking Trump

Dan Amira does some fine work and exposes the fraudulence of Donald Trump’s aw-shucks, I’ve-never-done-this-before approach to a presidential bid/cry for help. I’m completely and achingly bored by Trump, but someone needed to point out that his statement this morning , that this is the “first time I am being serious about it,” is a total lie.

On January 7, 2000, Donald Trump was asked what would stop him fromentering the race for president that year as the candidate of theReform Party. The question had been preceded by six months of growingmomentum, which saw Trump go from denying interest in a presidentialcandidacy in July to forming a presidential exploratory committee inOctober, and months of interviews, publicity, and speculation.

“Death,” Trump replied. His latest book, The America We Deserve ,had been released that very week, coincidentally. A little over a monthlater, he announced that he’d decided not to run because of disunitywithin the Reform Party.

Trump is the ultimate example of a weird political tic – this idea that success in business or media is a predictor of success in politics. He exploits this to get attention for his business. Hopefully, this is the last time I’ll mention him and by extension help him out.