Is Donald Trump Beginning to Self-Destruct?
Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign has seemed a glowing testament to the old Hollywood adage that there’s no such thing as bad press. The more offensive and the more racist Trump gets, the more his support base seems to grow. But this week Trump’s race-baiting tactics actually seem to be drawing the wrong kind of attention and may actually be having a negative effect on his campaign. It’s been obvious that not all Republicans are happy with Trump’s shoot from the hip style or his racist bent, particularly the Republican Party leadership. Although Trump may try to claim he’s coming under fire because he’s challenging the establishment, the political realities of 21st century America may now be catching up to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Too Much of a Racist Thing
Donald Trump’s campaign may be fueled by stoking racial and ethnic tension, but so are his vulnerabilities. Trump’s ongoing public attacks against Latino federal judge Gonzalo Curiel have drawn a strong rebuke from the Republican Party establishment. On Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan publicly denounced Trump for attacking Judge Curiel, calling Trump “the textbook definition of a racist”. Shortly thereafter, Republican Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois withdrew his support for the orange-skinned reality TV icon turned presidential candidate, stating that Donald Trump “does not have the temperament” to be president and that the senator “cannot and will not” support Trump as the Republican nominee according to CNN.
One Thing Leads to Another
As you probably already know, Judge Curiel isn’t just any federal judge. He’s the judge who is hearing two fraud cases against the candidate’s Trump University real estate seminar business. Only Donald Trump knows what he was thinking by making race-based attacks on this judge. But these attacks are not only backfiring, they are also putting the lawsuits in the spotlight. The problem with that is Donald Trump’s willingness to buy influence with politicians may have crossed a very serious line in dealing with Trump University complaints.
During his campaign, Donald Trump has made public statements about buying influence with politicians, including some he’s debated. This not only made those politicians look bad but it also gave him credibility as a straight-shooting challenger of the Washington establishment. While his support base is apparently willing to overlook the inherent problem with Trump admitting to buying influence with our elected officials, revelations of Trump allegedly making campaign contributions to at least two state attorneys general as a quid pro quo to drop lawsuits against Trump University are now getting more and more attention. These allegations have the real potential to take the wind out of Trump’s sails. More importantly, they give the Republicans a legitimate reason to justify the extraordinary step of denying him the nomination at the convention in July.
To Self-Destruct or Not
Should the allegations be proven true, at least one looks legitimate and even Donald Trump’s adoring base of support will have a hard time rationalizing the outright buying off of attorneys general. But facing potential criminal charges is the kind of thing that can convince even a big ego like Trump’s that running for president isn’t worth the risks. Even thought the establishment is happy to let wealthy people like Donald Trump buy their way out of trouble, these allegations are the kind of thing that can be used to manipulate an elected official. And that may be the reason why these revelations are now gaining steam.
With or without these problems, Donald Trump could self-destruct at any moment. But if and when that moment comes will likely be chosen by the same forces that chose shower him with media attention, rather than treat him as a sideshow. Right now he’s now being tested by those forces to see if he will fall in line and do their bidding. As I argued in another post, “How America Will Be Manipulated Into Electing Hillary Clinton President in 2016“, Trump’s real job in this race, whether he realizes it or not, is to scare people into voting for the establishment’s remaining preferred criminal of choice, Hillary Clinton.
By the looks of things, this strategy already seems to be working, but those same forces would also settle with a President Trump if maintaining the legitimacy of the two-party system of control requires it. But only if he’s willing to keep the authoritarian, war-mongering, fiat-dollar agenda going while telling his base what they want to hear. Ya know, like almost every president has done for the last fifty years.
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Donald Trump photo from Bigstock Photo
