You have to hand it to Trump. He started out broke and, by pure determination and grit, built a big real estate business in New York that made his family a fortune. But enough about Frederick Trump. Let's discuss the presidential aspirations of his son, "The Donald."
Last week, Donald Trump threw his toupee in the ring for president. The announcement was made at a Trump property and was followed by a condo-flipping seminar.
His speech was good, very patriotic, with an historic perspective. He invoked our Founding Fathers, to whom he pays daily tribute by wearing a powdered wig. "The Donald" wore so much bronzer at his speech that I wasn't sure if he was announcing his run for president of the United States or of the Spokane, Wash., chapter of the NAACP.
Trump will probably not be the Republican nominee, but he will be a disruptive sideshow that the Left will eat up. As Tucker Carlson points out, the GOP historically gives its nomination in a hierarchical sequence, according to whose turn in line has come: Bush 41, Dole, Bush 43, McCain, then Romney. Most think this nomination is Jeb Bush's to lose, but Carlson points out that the country is in a nontraditional mood. If so, it bodes well for Trump, who has blue-collar appeal and seems ready to cut the size of government. His protectionist trade views will not help our economy. But, as bad as he is, he would have been much better than Obama.
The other populist candidate, Chris Christie, says he is running. He might be running, but he is clearly not doing sit-ups.
Some say Trump would be weak on foreign affairs, but to be fair, he has married most of the foreign women with whom he has had affairs. When asked about all the wars in the Middle East, he was vague. I am not sure how Trump expects to end the wars we are in if he cannot even keep Meatloaf and Gary Busey from fighting with each other on his show. I cannot wait to see who he will name to his celebrity cabinet.
His ties to NBC were severed by the network after Trump made some provocative remarks about illegal immigrants from Mexico. He pointed out that the USA is the dumping ground for illegals from south of the border.
Trump's intemperate remarks lost him his "Celebrity Apprentice" job. For the record, NBC fired Trump because they differ with him politically, yet "Lyin' Brian" Williams and Al Sharpton remain employed there. NBC is OK with lying but is intolerant of opposing opinions. Like Brian Williams, Trump would have been fine at NBC had he stolen valor by saying he's Mexican and led the charge at the Alamo.
Trump feels the U.S. is used by certain other countries; this strikes a populist tone. His position seems to be that "America is becoming the laughingstock of the world." It is not clear to me how a Trump presidency would fix that situation, but voters distrust Washington and want someone who will fire half the town.
If elected, Trump must vow not to let his duties as president interfere with the staging of the Miss Universe pageant, which The New York Times will now conclude is racist and rigged. Someone from Earth wins every year: another example of Earth privilege. Trump actually is well-educated, having graduated from the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania. He has an MBA from Wharton. That is an impressive amount of intellect to now have to go to the Iowa GOP caucuses and deny evolution.
As an op-ed humorist, I'm loving this 2016 presidential race lineup. With the lying Hillary Clinton (with her cad of a husband) leading the Democrats, and Trump now polling second among Republicans, it will be a golden time. Yet I wonder if our Kardashian-loving country no longer wants to lead but just be entertained.
Ron Hart is a syndicated op-ed humorist, author and TV/radio commentator. Email Ron@RonaldHart.com.