Give Trump the credit


Trump is a political animal

Throughout the primary season, Trump surprisingly demonstrated a never seen before acute political instinct that is hard to match.

During the February Florida Republican debate, Trump was asked about former Mexican President Vicente Fox’s comment that his country wouldn’t pay for Trump’s “fucking wall.”

“The wall just got 10 feet taller,” Trump shot back.

He then called on Fox to apologize for his foul language, reiterated that Mexico would, indeed, pay for the wall and hit Mexico for its countless sins against the United States.

In slapping down the former Mexican president, Trump reiterated and confirmed his toughness and nationalistic fiber.

Trump did the same thing when he turned Ted Cruz’s “New York values” attack into a riff about 9/11.

And again, reaffirming his patriotic values, in response to the San Bernardino terror attack, when he proposed his now infamous temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States.

Everyone denounced him. Apparently, no one agreed with him.

Trump could not care less. For trump, the emotional punch of the ban, and the way it differentiated him from the other candidates, was the important thing and ultimately, a large part of the Republican voters agreed with him.

In New Hampshire, 65 percent supported the ban, in South Carolina, 74 percent supported it, in New York, 68 percent.

Trump calls it as it is

With no pollsters, no speechwriters, no fundraising staff, little campaign organization, few TV advertisements, no debate prep, Trump has won the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump’s achievement is not so difficult to comprehend.

He did it by pounding a simple, emotive message over and over: “Making America Great Again”. He did it not being afraid of controversy and saying it as it is. It made him stand out from a field of an original field of seventeen candidates.

Trump’s every act of outrageousness reinforced his reputation as the “truth-telling” outsider.

Challenging and changing the rules

Trump while proving to be an exceptionally skilled politician was also fortunate. Not being taken seriously, for most of the primary season, there wasn’t any organized effort against him. He won three out of the first four contests while his rivals squabbled among themselves.

The establishment initially bet on Jeb Bush, and then, tapped out financially and psychologically, did nothing to rally around Cruz, whom many insiders fear and hate more than Trump.

Rubio may have been an option but trying to go against Trump mano to mano was not is greatest idea.

All of sudden, it became clear that the only alternative to a clean Trump nomination was a contested convention.

Trump has changed all the political rules. What he has done is not easily replicable. Now it is on to the next test: Will the Trump’s recipe work in the general election or will he fade away?

It would be foolish to discount his chances.



Trump: More presidential than ever!


“Make America Great again”

MOBILE Al, Friday Night August 21 — It was the most audacious Donald Trump spectacle yet of the 2016 campaign. Trump’s flashy performance is now more than showmanship. It is more and more coolly strategic, touching down in the heart of red America. Trump, discussing every aspect of politics an American culture, is now doing everything in his power to demonstrate that his candidacy has broad and lasting appeal across every region of the country.

“We have politicians that don’t have a clue. They’re all talk, no action. What’s happening to this country is disgraceful. We’re running on fumes. There’s nothing here . . . We’re not going to have a country left. We need to have our borders. We need to make great deals. We’re going to build a wall,” said Trump.

Noting all the states where he leads in the polls, Trump added: “Has this been crazy? Man! I mean, it’s been wild. I’d like to have the election tomorrow. I don’t want to wait.”

The crowd was anything but silent.

Trump fans came by the thousands, driving from the Florida panhandle, from Mississippi, from Tennessee and Texas. Traffic was backed up for more than a mile. The most-enthusiastic Trump backers began arriving at the stadium at dawn. In the run-up, Trump made the rounds on Alabama radio stations, talking politics and college football. As the crowd formed Friday morning, Trump tweeted from New York: “We are going to have a wild time in Alabama tonight! Finally, the silent majority is back!”

Trump chose Mobile for his big rally in part because it is the hometown of Senator Jeff Sessions, an immigration hard-liner who has been counseling Trump and helped him develop his immigration policy paper. Trump is not the only contender who sees the South as a place where bids could rise or fall in the second lap of the 2016 race. But no one is putting on a show like Trump. As the sun began to set, the crowd in the stadium snapped their heads toward the sky. Here it was, gliding toward them: a glimmering Boeing 757 with “T-R-U-M-P” stretched across its navy blue body. The crowd roared its approval to Trump as his jet tilted away to land at a nearby airport.

How much more presidential than this can we get?

