Were The Donald’s comments on Mexicans misconstrued? Did he say Mexicans were criminals and rapists as they entered the country or did he say Mexico is sending the criminals and the rapists over here? Europe emptied their undesirables, too, on the Mayflower and sent them to America, didn’t they?
Go figure. But Trump’s point was made as he opened the discussion on the border and immigration. What he didn’t discuss publicly was the issue of whether Mexican cabals are importing drugs onto American streets. He spoke what a lot are thinking, but not saying out loud.
Trump’s outspokenness makes for lively conversation, at least. He doesn’t do political-speak, trotting out the usual clichés and never directly answering a simple yes or no question. He will dominate and I can’t wait for the debates. Trump will not follow the script and he will not be politically correct.
His perspective is that of an entrepreneur. He is the American Dream, made good. He is not the corporate guy who climbed the ladder. He is not the guy daddy left a fortune to. He had some bad days, filing multiple bankruptcies only to rise again. He has had a couple of divorces.
Yet, he is foxy, media savy and entertaining and has the masses awaiting his next move. After all, this is the guy who had a hit TV show for years with The Celebrity Apprentice, until he was fired for his Mexican remarks. But Trump the personality is still bigger than a mere TV show, no matter how good the ratings.
In Chicago, tickets for his recent speaking engagement sold out in a day and the producers might have moved to a larger room, but they didn’t. In Arizona they did, when that crowd, too, outgrew the rally room and moved to larger quarters, which made even Trump say, “unbelievable.” The crowds are buying tickets to see The Donald, a new page in American politics, perhaps.
I predict he will force a fight internally with the football-sized team of Republican presidential wannabe candidates. They will try to shut him down as they battle his remarks. But all eyes will remain focused on him, as they weigh the merit of his comments.
This is exactly what Trump wants. He knows how to take center stage and guide the conversation. He will do it again and again and again. It’s called positioning and staging. He will suck the air out of the room over and over.
Watching the news and the reaction to his Mexican statements, which were racist, I saw an elderly Black man say that a Mexican had killed his son and that Trump spoke for him. He was the underdog who had no voice, but lost his son to unnecessary violence from a killer that the old Black man believed should not have been here.
Shortly thereafter, the young woman died in the arms of her father, as she was shot in San Francisco by a Mexican that had been deported a couple of times and should not have been here. The Mexican killed her with a federal agent’s gun. How did this happen? That incident surely made Trump’s point.