The Trump appeal

Donald Trump is a misogynistic, mouth-pursing, racist trust-fund baby who is leading the GOP field by a mile due to such stunning intellectual declarations as “the big problem this country has is being politically correct” and his pledge to “make our country great again.”

What acumen! Way to tell it like it is, Mr. Trump!

In all seriousness, though, we’ll concede it’s refreshing to see a conservative candidate who’s comfortable in his skin. What you see is apparently what you get. The Donald doesn’t attempt whatsoever to check his ego or his mouth. He makes no bones about being a shrewd businessman unafraid to bully his way to the top.

And it’s precisely those traits that set him apart from the other nine candidates with whom he shared the podium during the first of the GOP debates last week. He upstaged every one of them, including Chris Christie, the heretofore king of straight-talk rhetoric. Many appeared meek and those who didn’t came off as too practiced, plastic. In other words, they sounded like politicians.

Trump may be bombastic, but he did something right. As he pointed out this week during his first post-debate press conference on Tuesday (Aug. 11), stating that he’s taking his cues from the polls, he’s in front not only in Iowa, but also in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. He also boasted that it was he who’d pulled in tens of millions more viewers than Fox had expected for the debate.

The thing is, Trump is entertaining, if you’re into boorish blowhards. And there’s a certain segment of America that does love that sort of thing (those who keep up with the Kardashians and Real Housewives, The Apprentice, et. al). Trump’s reality television persona is just about tailor-made for those folks and, thus far, his demagoguery is keeping the momentum going. Even establishment Republicans cannot look away. Heck, none of us can.

For now. How long will it last? It’s a long road to the White House and the billionaire will have to unveil policy plans. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, and, to be sure, Americans will be watching.