I simply can’t resist weighing in on Donald Trump one more time even though I risk hurting the feelings of some of my favorite people. I have been amused, baffled, and even angered by his supposed popularity among certain segments of the population. I’m an informal student of human nature and so I have taken it upon myself to attempt to make some sense of the Trump phenomenon. I’ve forced myself to watch his press conferences and his rallies even though it nauseates me to do so. In the process I believe that I have determined just what makes his campaign tick.

Donald Trump is first and foremost a masterful salesmen. He’s the guy who can close the deal. If the Donald were one of the characters in Glengarry Glen Ross, he would undoubtedly win the Cadillac in the contest to sell worthless land. He’s the knife salesman who knocks at your door until you answer. Once he gets his foot in you are doomed to listen to his pitch. No matter how much you protest he will keep up his fast talking act until you finally surrender. He can sell anything: cheap knives, detergent, his own wacky ideas. Watching him in action is fascinating. He says nothing and yet sounds so confident that he tricks some people into believing that he has all of the answers. When pushed to explain how he plans to accomplish his goals he rarely gives any details. He just wants everyone to trust him because he is the great Donald. 

Another of his skills is that he is a natural born speaker. He doesn’t need or use notes. There is no teleprompter. He says whatever comes into his mind. This stream of consciousness technique provides him with an illusion of honesty. It doesn’t seem possible that he may actually be pulling a fast one when his comments are so outrageous. It’s easy for the uninitiated to believe that he is so independent that he no longer cares what anyone may think about him. The problem is that an analysis of what he says reveals that he really says very little that is of great importance. Most of his plans are only vague threats filled with bombast and no substance. He’s great at the putdown but not so much at coming up with ideas that may actually have a chance of working. 

Donald Trump is also tapping into the frustrations of a slice of Americans on the far right just as Bernie Sanders does with the far left. These are people who are frustrated and disappointed by the usual crew of politicians. They feel that they have been left behind and even abused in the past many years. They view Donald Trump as refreshing. Unfortunately very little of what he espouses will ever work. If by some awful chance he were actually elected I sincerely believe that his biggest fans would find him sorely lacking. The rest of us would be vacationing in Canada or Panama until the next opportunity to vote him out. Luckily our system of checks and balances and Constitutional laws would stop his lunacy at every turn. Still I find it frightening that so many well meaning individuals find him to be even remotely qualified to be President of the United States. How they can accept his meanderings and hateful commentaries is a mystery to me.

The media is also either wittingly or unwittingly feeding the Donald Trump frenzy. They have provided him with three to four times the media coverage of any of the other candidates. His every word becomes a headline on the nightly news. Getting exposure is huge and can’t be measured in ultimate value. Many people who might have ignored Trump are now on board because the media is giving him so much publicity. I have two different theories as to why our journalists appear to be so fascinated by him. One is that they hope to run him out of the race by exposing his ridiculousness. The other is rather more cynical and it is that they want him to win the nomination because they believe that the more liberal Democrat will win with a landslide against him. A run against some of the other Republican candidates might be much closer and therefore too risky.

Donald Trump is boorish and arrogant to a point that makes me wince. He has insulted Hispanics and women and John McCain and yet his popularity only seems to grow. In the meantime many of the American people seem to be ignoring some really decent candidates. I definately don’t want another Bush in the White House but I have to admit that Jeb may be the best of his family and he would be a far cry better than Donald. Marco Rubio is a brilliant young man who represents Hispanics so very well. He has some very convincing arguments and programs for everything from the economy to solving the concerns over immigration. Carly Fiorina is an impressive woman with a brilliant wit and an ability to debate that is stronger than Ms. Clinton’s and most of her Republican opponents. Dr. Ben Carson is an inspirational and caring man. I can’t imagine why the Republican voters are not leaning toward one of their far more interesting candidates rather than the clownish Trump. Even some of the least popular of the bunch like Chris Christie and Bobby Jindal have more to offer. I have to admit that I truly thought that Donald Trump would burn out like the two Ricks, Santorum and Perry. When he is around even the hatefulness of Ted Cruz sounds tame.

I’m highly amused that Mr. Trump is so upset with Megan Kelly of Fox News. I can’t wait to see his reaction when he comes up against the folks at CNN or some of the long time, hard core pundits from ABC and NBC. He’s already having a difficult time with Jorge Ramos from Univision. It’s going to be quite fun to sit back and see what happens when he’s taken to task by someone who is far less inclined to be kind to him. I’d give anything for a one on one with him and Jon Stewart.

I’m not one to ever make fun of someone’s hair. Mine is far too wispy and inclined to lose its body with even the slightest amount of wind or humidity. If I were running for office I have little doubt that there would be many critiques of my lack of hair style. Still I have to ask how someone as wealthy as Donald Trump claims to be would have such a horrible comb over. I hope he doesn’t pay much for that. His hair is a travesty and baldness like Daddy Warbucks would suit him more.

Frankly I have grown weary of Donald Trump’s antics as I suspect most Americans have. I’d like to believe that those who seem to think that he has what it takes will soon come to their collective senses. In the meantime I feel like that proverbial innocent trapped in my own living room while he attempts to sell me on his latest ideas and dares me to resist his pitch. It’s way too uncomfortable and it worries and disappointments that there are individuals who have fallen for his snake oil ideas.

The United States of America certainly is an interesting place and I never cease to be amazed at the gullibility and quite frankly the nastiness of so many of its citizens. We certainly have problems but none of them will be solved with wild and ugly ideas that pit us against one another. If Donald Trump truly wants to make America great again then he may want to consider finding ways to unite us rather than tear us apart. There is enough fighting in the world. We don’t need more right in our own backyard. Donald Trump is mostly a spoiled school yard bully. I’ve seen his kind so many times before. If we all join together we can shut him down and shut him up. He needs desperately to be fired. The sooner he goes away, the better!