In the same way I appreciate bald white men with swastikas tattooed on their faces and dirty, gnarled-haired women standing on sidewalks yelling at no one I can see, I appreciate Donald Trump.
Their personal beliefs and psychosis aside, there is comfort and relief in seeing people for who they are without having to expend a lot of energy getting to know them. As it is with the overtly racist and the mentally ill, so it is with a rich, pompous blow hard — what you see (or hear) is what you get.
With the final Republican presidential candidates debate of 2015 having taken place this week, I have the good fortune of waiting until next year to listen to anything Trump says about domestic and foreign policy. Or the economy. Or television and Ronda Rousey.
Not that I’ve been going out of my way to listen. Of all the televised forums, debates and interviews Trump has been featured in, I’ve watched zero.
I’ve read articles that have attempted to put his political plans and policies into context but in those stories Trump is not the focus. He is just one of a number of other would-be political players making a pitch. He is not the central figure in the written narratives I’ve read, though he is the center of his own universe.
What I learned and know about Trump I learned years ago when he frequently called the Howard Stern show to blast actors and actresses or promote a golf course, or when he premiered his television program and made the rounds promoting it and himself as the greatest thing to ever happen to entertainment.
What I know about Trump is this: he is a successful real estate investor who is impressed with himself and believes that he is right. Always and all ways Trump promotes what is best for him.
So his remarks earlier this year about Mexican immigrants, Syrian refugees and practitioners of Islam may or may not reflect his personal feelings. They may be intended to bring him attention, something he feeds on the way some amoebas feed on sludge and muck. I tend to believe it’s mostly the former because while he may be an entertainer,
Trump is not a world-class actor.
He is, however, a figure who has stoked and captured the loyalty of tens of thousands of Americans who would like to see him elected president of the United States.
He has prompted people who share his xenophobic beliefs and plans for this country to stand tall and in the sun. He has emboldened people to speak their minds and share their feelings about the world around them, their opinions mixing in with others. Good for them. And him.
I appreciate Donald Trump for revealing who he would have us believe he is. And our neighbors and friends who believe the same things he does. The truth can be unsettling. But like when you come across a bigot or a crazy person, it’s good to know with whom you are dealing.
