Donald Trump: The Candidate TV Fans Might Dread?
Donald Trump’s announcement of a presidential bid brings mixed feelings to any sensible TV watcher. On the one hand, a fist-pumping campaign criss-crossing the country might prevent the production of a new season of The Donald’s braying “you’re-fired”-fest, Celebrity Apprentice, which would improve the mental health of the nation just a squidge. On the other, the prospect of Trump bellowing his positions on the economy and immigration on TV talk shows, political gab-fests, and (shudder) presidential debates is a prospect to dread.
Early proof that it may be time to buy a remote with a bigger mute button arrived on Tuesday night, when Trump swaggered onto Fox News’s The O’Reilly Factor. In introducing Trump, Bill O’Reilly noted that he’s attended “sporting events” with him. By the end of the grilling — during which Trump slid from firm answers like a pat of butter melting on that grill — you got the impression that Trump may have given the host a new idea for the subject of his next Killing book.
O’Reilly rightly scoffed at Trump’s idea to build a wall separating the United States and Mexico that Mexico would pay for. How? O’Reilly asked more than once. “You have to let me handle that,” said Trump.
Frosty relations with Russia? “You can make deals with those people,” said Trump. What makes you think you’ll have any more success with President Vladimir Putin than President Obama has, O’Reilly asked? “It’s based on a feel,” said Trump. We have a campaign slogan: Groping for Peace! No wonder Neil Young — a Bernie Sanders supporter — issued a statement Tuesday afternoon scolding Trump for using Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” during his campaign announcement.
The dream that anyone can grow up to be president takes a nightmare-ish turn with Trump. Yes, it’s potentially refreshing to have someone who’s not a professional politician in a high-profile race. But we’re not talking about enlightening, amusing spectacles like William F. Buckley and Norman Mailer’s wittily daring runs for mayor of New York City in 1965 and 1969, respectively. (Buckley, asked what’s the first thing he would do if elected, said: “Ask for a recount.”)
No, Citizen Trump is neither a man of the people nor a gadfly out to make a point about the genius of the American political system. Trump is a multi-billionaire real estate developer who, from his announcement comments and his interviews with O’Reilly and ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos, has a lot of business-world nostrums to peddle as foreign policy.
And as far as outreach to voters is concerned, he could care less. Warned by O’Reilly that if he attacks Hillary Clinton, he’ll be branded “anti-woman,” Trump shrugged. “Maybe I don’t win for that reason,” said Trump, “or maybe I do.” To Trump, the term “broadening the base” means layering a deeper shade of brown dye into that thing he grows on top of his head.
Trump also told Stephanopoulos he’d “love” to have Oprah Winfrey on his ticket, that “we’d win easily.” Sure, Don. As if Winfrey would settle for the veep spot.
On second thought, maybe another season of Celebrity Apprentice is preferable to an entire campaign season spent running for the office of Celebrity Boss-in-Chief.
