When Donald Trump announced he would give 2016 another try as a republican presidential candidate, the GOP saw him as a mild nuisance. Little did they appreciate just how big of a "nightmare" he would very soon become, [8]a nightmare which now sees the flamboyant billionaire whose self-reported net worth fluctuates daily with a double digit percentage lead [9]over his closest competitor Scott Walker.
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But the biggest mistake the GOP did is they inability to comprehend that either the US public enjoys being trolled, or is just so sick of the left/right paradigm, it will gladly latch on to anyone, even the most farcical, self-lampooning candidate, who promises a break from the old routine which has proven not to work for the common American.
The latest confirmation that the Trump "nightmare" is causing not only sleepless nights but also panic attacks for a GOP that is scrambling to respond to the Donald's juggernaut is not only open attempts at caricature, which however merely feed Trump's ego and push him to troll his accusers even more, but to use the influential Des Moines Register, Iowa's largest newspaper and a critical voice when it comes to endorsing, or panning, presidential candidates in this first caucus state, to call on Donald Trump to drop out of the 2016 presidential race.
Officially the Register's position was simply in escalation to the furor over the real estate magnate's weekend comments about Sen. John McCain's service during the Vietnam War. As Fox reports [11], in an editorial piece published late Monday, the Register said Trump's comments were "not merely offensive, they were disgraceful. So much so, in fact, that they threaten to derail not just his campaign, but the manner in which we choose our nominees for president."
The paper, the most influential in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, went on to say that if "[Trump] had not already disqualified himself through his attempts to demonize immigrants as rapists and drug dealers, he certainly did so by questioning [McCain's] war record."
Unofficially, it is called throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks.
Following this weekend's firestorm, Trump - who clearly enjoys playing the starring role in every social scandal - appeared to back off some of his comments Monday, telling Fox News' Bill O'Reilly that "if there was a misunderstanding, I would totally take that back." However, Trump also said he "used to like [McCain] a lot. I supported him ... but I would love to see him do a much better job taking care of the veterans."
Whether Trump's apology is sincere or not, the nationwide response he got for his comments, coupled with his popularity surge, will merely encourage him. And since for the real estate magnate, advertising is everything, the fact that he has become the only topic of discussion, whether at the water cooler or during the prime time news circuit, expect the Trump-eting to continue to whatever bitter end is in store.
The Register, which broke a 40-year run of backing Democrats in presidential elections by endorsing Mitt Romney in 2012, was the latest voice to pile on Trump for his comments, joining veterans groups, Republican colleagues and President Obama's spokesman, who defended McCain and called on Trump to apologize.
Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said Monday that Trump's "asinine comments" were "an insult to everyone who has ever worn the uniform — and to all Americans."
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said veterans "are entitled to an apology."
The bottom line is that the GOP did not take Trump seriously, which is precisely what he wanted. And now that underestimation is costing the GOP dearly, as it scrambles with damage control which merely adds insult to injury, because conventional retaliation that may have worked with any other candidate simply strengthens Trump.
Then again, considering America's artificially polarizing left/right model - all of it controlled by unelected corporations and bailed out Wall Street banks - has failed, and a vote for Trump is not "a vote for Trump" but a vote against America's broken political system, perhaps it is the case that the president the US truly needs, and the one person the American electorate will select, is this guy.
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