10 Good Reasons Donald Trump Needs to Bow Out

One day after Donald Trump made his disparaging comments about John McCain and veterans who were captured in the line of duty, his poll numbers skyrocketed. Go figure. Within 24 hours, Trump was showing a double digit lead over opponents whose profile had been significantly higher than his just weeks before. We are fully 16 months out from the election, so I don’t put a lot of weight on those numbers. Does anybody remember in 2012 when Rick Santorum sailed to the top of the heap? And we all know how long that lasted. So I say, don’t get too excited about the numbers. Still, it compels me to offer my top 10 reasons American needs Donald Trump to go away:

1. Insulting the entire Mexican population was perhaps the worst way to kick off a presidential campaign ever. It shows that he believes in exclusivity, and that he does not value any of the decent human beings trying to forge a new life for themselves in America. He needs to read an American history book.

 2. Trump is degrading the electoral process. Dignity still counts in the process. While it is true the last several elections cycles have been anything but dignified, Trump has taken the process to a new low. His public comments and his demeanor have been more than just undignified and certainly not worthy of a potential leader of the free world.

 3. He plays to the crowd, rather than truly expressing his positions. Right now, we know he has very negative feelings toward our immigration policies and procedures. We know very little else about his positions on key economic, social and foreign relations issues.

Playing to the crowd in Arizona

 4. Trump routinely conducts himself in an undiplomatic fashion. It may work in the New York real estate development world, but it will not work at a negotiating table with foreign leaders. He will not be able to dismiss an Angela Merkel or Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping. Their power, and the power of other world leaders have measurably increased over time, and without diplomacy, Trump will further dilute the world standing of the U.S.

 5. All of Trump’s rhetoric and each of his speeches play to one segment of the American population. What about the rest of the people? What about minorities, women, veterans, Democrats, the traditional Republican base, the poor, the mentally ill, the unemployed, and many other population segments? If he were to be president, he would have to be the leader of all of America. He has shown no inclination to acknowledge key population groups.

Trump polled stronger after his remarks about McCain

 6. Speaking of veterans, after his debacle with John McCain, Trump was very vocal about his disdain for the Veterans Administration. He has, however, offered no suggestions on how he would make improvements. In fact, that is often Trump’s approach: He criticizes, but does not offer solutions.

7. Trump has indicated he will spend whatever it takes to win. Do we really want an American citizen to purchase the presidency with his wealth? By some estimates, the final cost of becoming President of the United States can easily approach a billion dollars. Trump has that much and more. The electoral playing field suddenly becomes more uneven than ever.

 8. Regardless of how you feel about the American mass media, at some point, every President needs them. It might be to spread the word about proposed legislation or trade deals he or she feels is critical to the economy or national security. It might be about promoting a person he or she wants to appoint as Supreme Court Justice. There is any number of reasons a President can use media to his or her advantage – or disadvantage. Think Richard Nixon. Trump continues to alienate high profile media professionals, one by one. Consider this exchange with NBC’s Matt Lauer:


Media Backlash has been swift and unforgiving. The Des Moines Register, the largest newspaper in Iowa, published an editorial suggesting Trump drop out of the race now. "If Trump, our would-be commander in chief, doesn't like POWs, how does he feel about men and women killed in action?" the Register queried.  Ouch.  Meanwhile, The Huffington Post announced that all Trump-related content is now relegated to its entertainment page, calling his campaign a "side show."

9. Neither major political party is taking Trump seriously, with Republicans so far being much more vocal in their opposition. Democrats see him as a distraction from the race, while Republicans see him as an embarrassment. If Trump were to be elected President, he would have little or no support from the legislative branch of government, which means nothing much could get accomplished. Haven’t we really had enough of nothing much getting accomplished?

10. Americans almost never elect an extremist to the Presidency. They routinely fall by the wayside. Think Rick Santorum. Trump is free to spend a billion dollars of his own money, but he is not electable.

I could go on about Trump's life of privilege that has kept him out of touch with every day Americans; or his multiple and questionable draft deferments that allowed him to avoid the Vietnam war; or his multiple declarations of business bankruptcy over the years. But when all is said and done, Americans are smart. Trump is nothing more than an opening act for the real race to the White House.

DELUSIONS OF THE DONALD

Some years ago when I first walked into Trump Tower in Manhattan I remember thinking, “This guy thinks big – and shiny.” Those were the days when real estate developer Donald Trump was married to Ivana Trump, and together they had turned the Plaza Hotel into the showplace it was always meant to be. Those were glamorous times for the Trumps. The unapologetically ostentatious 1980s. It was a moment when the name Trump was synonymous with the good life, especially when compared to their arch rivals in the hotel business, the Helmsleys. Remember wicked witch hotel baroness Leona Helmsley and her increasingly infirm and senile husband, Harry? They were certainly no match for the beautiful Trumps.

Today one would be hard pressed to associate the word “beautiful” with Donald Trump. The years have not been kind to the Donald. His ego inflated involuntarily to the point where he believes he can either become the next President of the United States, or mightily influence who ever ascends. Trump is a showman. He is a circus ringmaster. He says outrageous things and he often inaccurately insinuates himself into the upper echelons of every cultural stratum. For example, in his latest book, “Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again,” he writes of superstar Lady Gaga, “"Maybe she became a star because I put her on the Miss Universe Pageant. It’s very possible, who knows what would have happened without it, because she caused a sensation.” Further into the book, in an equally ungrammatical fashion, he claims he warned Jeff Zucker of NBC not to move Jay Leno to a different time slot; it was a moment one might think of the Donald not as a real estate magnate, but rather as instant network programming executive. Trump can’t get enough of Trump’s magnificence.

But…you know that. The big news today is Donald Trump, presidential debate moderator. As it turns out it would be a debate between GOP frontrunner Newt Gingrich and GOP homophobe loser-in-residence Rick Santorum. Everybody else has declined the invitation to participate in the Dec. 27 debate produced by Newsmax and to air on the ION network. Let’s see if we can picture this: Newt can talk about the social merits of having first graders clean toilets in their schools while Santorum can talk about the evil gay agenda that threatens the fabric of our culture. And Trump can interrupt frequently and talk about Trump.

By the weekend, Trump was reportedly considering canceling the debate. One can only hope. Of course we know it would be cancelled because of lack of participation among the candidates. But Trump put the spin on the potential cancellation by saying it may be necessary because he is still considering running as an independent candidate, and it may be a conflict of interest for him to host a debate.

The political process is sullied by Trump’s Barnum and Bailey sideshow. We are talking about determining who may be the next leader of the free world. Whether you like them or not, most of the GOP candidates have worked their way up through the system to take the giant hopeful leap towards the presidency. Most of them probably do not have the intellect, chutzpah and finances to go the distance, but they each had a steady trajectory. They climbed. Trump, on the other hand, took an express elevator of his own making. He is tailor made for the American pop culture, famous for being famous. Who else can you think of that develops real estate and ends up with his own network reality show, his own beauty pageant, A-list Hollywood connections and now, his own presidential debate?

Still, does the emperor have even a stitch of clothing? One wonders what on earth, other than ego, convinced Trump he has a place in presidential politics. Would he have the first clue what to do as commander-in-chief of America’s armed forces? Would he know even where to begin to navigate his way through a hostile legislative branch of our government? With absolutely no legal training, no legislative experience and no Washington cache, how could he remotely expect other world leaders to assign him a modicum of credibility? It is quite a fantasy leap from TV personality to Chief Executive of the United States of America.

About that ego; this week Trump told CNN host Piers Morgan that he believes he is the one American who should be sent to negotiate trade deals with foreign nations. He told Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room” that he was surprised Romney turned down the invitation to the debate because he claims Romney is clamoring for Trump’s endorsement. Rather than owning up to the fact that the candidates are not participating in his debate because it has no value, Trump told radio host Don Imus that they are not coming because "some of them don't have the courage to do it. A couple of them called me and told me, 'Donald, I'm just too nervous to do it.'"

Every election period has these short-lived sideshows. Last time it was Sarah Palin. Some years before that it was Ross Perot. Remember him? This time it’s Trump. Who’s lying in wait for 2016? Snooki, maybe? Justin Bieber? Listen, this too shall pass, or should I say, Trump, too, shall pass. We need to get laser-focused on the critical issues at hand – economy, poverty, social equality, employment, housing, global threats and regaining America’s traditional standing on the world stage. Trump is a blip on the radar screen, but one that is diverting attention from all that really matters. If he truly wants to serve his country, rather than himself, he will take a giant step back and allow the process to proceed as it should.