Donald Trump reminds me of Gertrude Stein’s “there is no there there.”
His position on the drug laws is a perfect example:
In his incarnation as current Republican presidential front-runner, Trump is in no way a fan of illegal drugs. He’s claimed to have never tried controlled substances “of any kind.” Last June, he said that he opposes pot legalization. “I feel strongly about that,” he told Sean Hannity.
Today’s Donald Trump sounds like your average drug warrior. But it wasn’t too long ago that the real-estate mogul/reality-TV star publicly supported the legalization of drugs in the United States—and called out politicians for not having the courage to end the disastrous war on drugs.
WTF? Does this mean he no longer believes in his alleged courage? I’m agreeing with David Boaz that attempting to analyze this man is a complete waste of time. I have no respect for anyone who supports him (and of course such people would have no respect for me, because reasonable dialogue with with those who champion inconsistency is by definition impossible).
I’d call Trump a despicable fool, except I think he might be in it for the money. Getting Hillary elected may be in his economic interest.
MORE: In a discussion of Trump at Reason, Brian Doherty links “The Problem of Political Irrationality.”
AND MORE: Almost as if on cue (haha!), WorldNetDaily is playing the Alpha Male card in support of Trump.
Donald Trump is the prototypical, archetypal and testosterone-driven alpha male who rules by the sheer force of his personality, imposing physique, quick wit, mastery of repartee and almost hypnotic control over his gathering masses of adoring followers. He is Attila to the Huns, Henry V to the outnumbered English army, Winston Churchill to desperate allied forces, and now our fearless leader against the pagan forces of progressivism and political correctness. He is the unapologetic, quintessential warrior male of yore capable of vanquishing any and all opposition in his way.
Trump is not a clown, a bloviating buffoon, an intimidating bully, or just a really rich guy hoping to buy America as a shiny new toy. He is ambitious to a fault, relentless in his desire to control, own and build, and he has success written into the DNA of every cell of his body. Yes, he is egotistical, over the top at times, and less soft and sentimental than some would like, but I think he would do pretty well in that closed conference room with Putin or Kim. They would respect him but not necessarily like him. These are the ways of the warrior males who have ruled the world from the beginning of time.
You would almost think this was comedy.
NO, me so sorry! I TAKE THAT BACK!
I am unable to resist the sheer force of the man’s beautifully bad hair alone! … I respect the success of his DNA and and want him to rule over me!
MORE: In the Sunday Detroit Free Press, liberal writer Rochelle Riley (a Hillary supporter no doubt) has kind words for Trump, and compares him to H. Ross Perot:
Whatever his motivation, he is showing old-school politicians that people appreciate a little straight talk — even if some of it is abhorrent. We should thank him as he prepares to see his campaign end next year the same way Perot’s did.
Reminds me of the kind of brats I knew in childhood, who, when they couldn’t face losing, would overturn the board.
Hillary must love the man. And the pathetic GOP can’t win with him, and can’t win without him.
AND MORE: Maureen Dowd takes delight in Trump, gleefully rubbing salt in wounds:
He’s tapped into a hunger among those who want to believe that America is not a shrinking, stumbling power passed like a pepper mill between two entitled families.
Delusional though it may be, I also don’t want to believe America is that, but why should that endear me to Donald Trump?
Comments
24 responses to ““looking for consistent philosophy or even policies in Donald Trump’s statements is a pretty fruitless exercise””
I was just thinking yesterday that this election cycle is a bit like C. S. Lewis’s “Lord, Liar, Lunatic” argument for the divinity of Jesus – only in this case our choice for Lord is, at least so far, either a Liar or a Lunatic.
I watched Trump’s entire 55 minute Iowa speech. Whatever you think of his politics (assuming he even has any) he’s really entertaining. I’d rather watch that than just about any TV show. (other than Big ‘bang Theory, anyway) Compare his off the cuff style to presidente el Stiffo reading a teleprompter.
Problem with CS Lewis and any other Christian apologist I’ve ever read is that they make iron-clad what appears to be irrefutable arguments to believers, and silly-ass sophistry to atheists. How about Jesus never existed and the religion was cobbled together from existing Jewish and Greek sources with some local stories mixed in. See “The Historical Evidence For Jesus” G. A. Wells. Conclusion: basically, there ain’t none. Historical evidence exists for John the Baptist (third party reports) and Hermes Trismegistus (his own writing) but zippo for Jeebus.
@Man Mountain Molehill – Heh, I was not endorsing Lewis’s argument, simply making a parallel. And yep, Lewis definitely left the ‘fictional character’ option off of his list. I’ve read a lot on the subject too and am persuaded that the earliest Christians, Paul being the primary one we know much about, believed in a cosmic, spiritual Christ that they ‘discovered’ through reading scripture and having ‘visions’. This being was later allegorized by the author of Mark, with other gospel spin offs coming later. Eventually some people started taking these gospels literally and by the time of the third century the historical Jesus was ‘born’ in the minds of his followers.
Pretty much what I think. G.A.Wells points out that after the temple was destroyed in AD 70 the remaining population was dispersed and isolated from the earlier culture. Explicit references to Christianity don’t begin until ca AD 130, several generations later.
Something else you might find interesting is on Mark Perakh’s web page. He explains why the crucifixion story cannot be true from the point of view of an orthodox Jew.
The charge against Jesus was false prophecy. He would have been tried in a rabbinical court and the punishment was stoning. The Jewish authorities would not have gone anywhere near the Romans, barely recognized their authority, and hated them. (Life of Brian is actually pretty close to a documentary).
Anyone want to bring up Josephus or Suetonius?
Eric:
I think it is a mistake to look for an ulterior motive in Trump’s candidacy, like to trying to get Hillary elected. I am a great believer in Occam’s Razor. ‘The most obvious solution to any problem is usually the correct one.’ What is the most obvious explanation as to why Donald Trump is running for president? Answer: Donald Trump is running for president because he would like to elected president of the United States. I think it is really that simple.
“How about Jesus never existed and the religion was cobbled together from existing Jewish and Greek sources with some local stories mixed in.”
you should try that with mohammed. it probably works much better. just try to keep your head about it!
Trump would like to be elected president of the United States?
Well, he had me fooled completely, because he is not acting like someone who seriously wants the job. (Nor will he ever get it.)
Moha mud never existed
happy now?
Islam was cobbled together out of Jewish, Christian and ghod nose what sources. It’s either the ravings of an illiterate madman who got someone to write down his hallucinations, or it was created out of whole cloth a century or more later. Either way, it’s well-fermented bullshit.
And, in case it’s not perfectly clear, FUCK MOSLEMS AND THE PROPHET THEY RODE IN ON.
Come get me you fucking head choppers, I’m armed and ready.
they said hitler would never get into power either! up from the gutter. freud
artificial stupidity. Has to be.
Jeebus quotes:
“In my father’s mall there are many shops”
“For I shall knock at the door. Then I shall rattle the knob. Then I’ll go around back and try that door. Then, if the coast is clear I’ll break a window…oh shit! They have an alarm, run for it, boys! Meet up later at Luke’s crib”
Let’s try alternative scenarios;
a) Trump really does want to be president.For now. It’s the ultimate toy for the ultimate billionaire boy who already has everything. The biggest and bestest ego trip ever. Trump Oval Office!!! He’ll stick to the campaign until he gets bored and obsesses on something else. Allow me to suggest a few:
Trumpland (entirely manned by animatronic Trumpbots)
Trump Louvre
Trump Sistine Chapel
Trump Taj Mahal (be a great casino)
Trump Pyramids
Trump The Moon and so on
b) He really is a stalking horse/beard or whatever the correct term is for Hillary. What could they possibly be offering? It would have to be billions. Billions and billions. Hundreds of billion. Where would it come from? The Clinton charity is chump change compared to what he already has. I can’t see how something like a corrupt business deal on that scale could be hidden. I mean, what are they going to do, give him an exclusive contract to operate Trump Air Force One? That’s a drop in the bucket compared to bbbillions.
Possibly it’s this, his business empire is a hollow shell, about to collapse, Hillary assures it all will be “too big to fail”. Or they have something really nasty on him. I mean like eating babies nasty. A hidden bunker under Trump Tower filled with his harem of hundreds of blind Albanian midget sex slaves nasty.
Or maybe, in his own belligerent, vulgar and inchoate way he sincerely wants it.
Damned if I know.
I just realized; The Republican party isn’t even the stupid party anymore. It’s the shoot itself in the foot party. Which makes the Democrats the shoot everyone else in the foot party.
It’s early days yet. Sit down, calm down and pass the popcorn.
Whatever else you may think of Trump, he puts on a good show. And, he’s kicking RNC (and to some extent DNC) butt.
The question to ask is this: does Trump want himself and his immediate family followed by the Secret Service for the rest of his life?
And here I was willing to support Trump (grudgingly) based on his previous position on cannabis.
I may just have to vote Libertarian (again).
http://talkreason.org/marperak/
The GOP elite’s strategy is to “split the vote to keep Jeb afloat”. That’s why there are so many no-hopers running. Jeb’s base of 15% doesn’t look so bad if there are a bunch of no-hopers scoring 5-10%. Run Jeb through the GOP’s revised primary cycle and he emerges looking like a winner. That’s the plan. Yet another loser candidate.
Donald Trump is tearing their strategy to shreds. He is doing it by his populist appeal, by threatening the GOP elites with a possible third-party run, and by telling Wall Street that investing in Jeb is not good move.
Don’t under-estimate Trump. He is smart and he hires smart.
Even if Trump is an irrational doofus, it is still fun watching him unravel the staid Republican apparatus. As bad as he is, and he IS bad, imagine that through some quirk of fate one of the lesser candidates actually got the nomination, and then got elected President. Any of the Bible thumpers would do: Huckabee, Jindal, Perry, or Cruz. Forget ending Prohibition. I’m with Kathy, enjoy the show and the popcorn.
Now they’re arguing about whether Trump is Christian enough for them. How can you tell?
Easy enough for Catholics to demonstrate faith, walk around Madrid cathedral on your knees while gashing yourself with broken glass or something like that. But Protestants? How Christian does a candidate have to be to satisfy these people? And how do you objectively measure Christianity? A Christ-o-meter? What are the units?
one millichristo = amount of holyness needed to change one standard glass of deionized water into wine at STP.
From a Calvinist point of view the money alone is ample evidence of election.
Great slogan for him: Elect the Elect!
http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/holy_willie.htm
How about
Trump / Coulter 2015 ?
Bill Buckley used to say nominate the most conservative candidate that can be elected.
What if that’s Trump?
Ayup. The upcoming reality TV show centered around “Trump vs the Other Guys” next fall keeps reminding me that the big problem with voting for the lesser of two evils is that you just get stuck with a lesser evil, rather than a real good of any kind.
Kinda why I’m a dedicated non-voter.
I do have to agree with Man Mountain Molehill up above: Trump *is* highly entertaining. Assuming that The Donald doesn’t pull a Perot and crash and burn before then, the months leading up to next November promise to be political theater of the very finest kind: just rife with exploding heads all around and *tons* of unintentional comedy.
I’m not completely sure that I agree that Trump is pulling a spoiler, ala Perot, Eric. I’m taking a wait and see on that one.
For now, he’s a welcome breath of amusement in the usually deadly earnest battle of “Left vs Leftist Lite” of the Democrat vs RHINO contest. The only Republican that I even remotely could see crossing my fingers and hoping for are Cruz and Fiorina and that’s just because Cruz is a comic book fan and reader – anyone who likes comics just can’t be *all* bad. 🙂