The fact that Donald Trump was considering running for President of the United States used to really irritate me. It seemed like Sarah Palin in 2008 all over again--this ridiculous publicity stunt that carried with it the frightening potential to become a four-year national nightmare.
Trump's attacks on President Obama's citizenship irritate me. (Yes, Donald, he fooled us all. It's the greatest scam in American political history.) They are reminiscent of Republicans' rise to power in the early 1950's because of their success in attacking Communism. Republicans created a political climate in which they attacked people, not their policies; Trump is doing the same. (Richard Nixon was among these Republican Communist Crusaders, and this jump-started his political career.) Unfortunately for Trump, Obama's U.S. citizenship is a non-issue, unlike Communism (there were actual communist spies in the government, though we undoubtedly overstepped our bounds with the persecution of suspected Communists). Trump just looks silly and unprofessional questioning the President's citizenship, and I think it's disrespectful too.
But I've come to be at ease about Trump and his possible candidacy in thinking it over, and talking with other people about it. So let's suppose he actually runs.
If so, he'll probably be running as a third-party candidate because he's not likely to get the Republican nomination. In 2008, Republicans made a big deal out of Obama's "lack of political experience," but Donald Trump literally has no political experience to speak of. I think Republicans would be much more comfortable nominating someone like Mitt Romney who is more towards the political center, and who has solid political experience and a good track record of success.
This means that for Democrats, Trump's candidacy might actually be a boon. No reasonable Democrat would vote for Trump because he's too far right. As a result, he wouldn't be stealing Democrats' votes from Obama, but would be splitting the Republican vote and weakening the Republican nominee.
Trump is running on...nothing. Nothing of substance at least. In interviews I've seen, he has talked about two things: Obama's birth certificate, and his own success as a businessman. To be taken seriously, he needs to discuss in earnest the real issues like the economy, the budget, or foreign affairs.
In the end, I'd be surprised if this was serious. I think it's more of a publicity stunt, and it's all just about getting Donald Trump's name out there to promote himself and his TV show...it's always fun to get attention. It's easy to talk about all the things that are wrong with the country--there certainly are many things--and it's easy to blame the guy at the top, the President. But it's even harder to do something about it.
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