More Donald Trump Absurdity: “I Really Get Nothing” Out Of All This Attention
Welcome to the circus. Your ringmaster is waiting.
Thanks to his new book and the impending return of Celebrity Apprentice, Donald Trump is back to schmoozing political reporters, who seem all too eager to lap up the nonsense that he spews out on a regular basis. Today, for example, he held a conference call to mark the book premier, and here’s how Hot Air’s Tina Korbe relates it:
“I would say, Tina, that I get nothing out of it. Who cares if I sell a few more books?” Trump said to me today on a conference call with reporters. “If I can endorse a person who turns out to be a super president, that would be great — and that is what I get out of it. I get nothing else out of it, believe me. It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of time, a lot of effort, and I really get nothing out of it. I don’t care about book sales because the book is going to do very well anyway. All of my books have done very well. What I get out of it is the satisfaction of trying to recommend somebody who’s going to be a great president.”
It truly astounds me that otherwise intelligent people, including seasoned political reporters like Chuck Todd who had his own unfortunate encounter with the massive ego with hair that is Donald John Trump on The Daily Rundown this morning, continue to fall for this nonsense. Perhaps it’s because some of them just haven’t been paying attention. I’ve known of Donald Trump since the mid-80s when he burst onto the New York real estate and media scene, making a name for himself by building casinos in Atlantic City (mostly with other peoples money) and getting in on the ground floor of the United States Football League. He was a media star largely because he had a personality and ego bigger than the entire island of Manhattan, and the New York media ate it up. It wasn’t long after that when the national media started picking up on the fun, and the game was on.
I’ve got to give Trump credit, he has played the news media like a fiddle for almost 30 years now, and they seem none the wiser. All they know is that he gets a lot of attention and big ratings, and that was something that was true even before The Apprentice came along. Much like political reporters in Washington like to be friends with the Congressmen and Senators they report on so that they can continue to get access for stories, the New York media and those that followed the Trump circus liked being friends with Trump. Because of that, they didn’t really report very much on the real estate ventures that went bankrupt — including, most inexplicably, casinos — or the role that Trump’s own massive ego played in the ultimate demise of the USFL. Even Trump’s personal foibles were viewed more as charming than outlandish.
The one thing that’s clear after 30 years, is that Donald Trump only does things like this because they benefit Donald Trump. Korbe’s comment that Trump is doing this because he “loves his country” is just absurd when taken in context with everything that we know about Trump himself. Even if the money doesn’t matter to him, and I have a feeling it matters a lot more than he lets on, the attention clearly matters one heck of a lot. The disgusting spectacle of the Republican candidates for President supplicating themselves to this man over the past several months has been nothing more than one massive Trump ego stroke. And now we’ve got the Trump Debate, the prospect of an endorsement, and the threat that he could run as a third-party candidate. It is a complete and total joke, and everyone with even a modicum of good sense knows it. The fact that the GOP is sitting back and letting this happen says more than anything else that has happened during this election cycle about how screwed up that party actually is. Donald Trump doesn’t belong moderating a debate any more than Herman Cain belongs lecturing on how to run a successful Presidential campaign.
I didn’t really think politics couldn’t get any more absurd, but now that Donald Trump has gotten involved again it’s clear that the absurdity hasn’t even reached its peak yet.
I see he inherited Andy Rooney’s eyebrows and is wearing them for his toupee.
Yes, that picture of Trump is going to get re-used every single time there’s a story about him. Get used to it.
As a World of Warcraft gaming nerd the Donald is doing what we call… “Stroking his Epeen”
@legion:
Actually when I did the post this morning about Trump’s third party threat I purposely used another picture, but for this post that picture seemed appropriate.
@Doug Mataconis: I’m just being a wiseguy because I know some people have made remarks before – I actually don’t mind it myself at all. I don’t think I’ve seen a more appropriate (or accurate) representation of the man.
legion,
No I saw a few comments from the previous post about how frequently that picture has been used. But, like I said, given the tone of the post, it seemed appropriate.
But that picture is just so – perfect – at getting across the man’s personality that it would be a crime not to use it.
Barack Obama ending Trump’s farce of a political career:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4
I don’t really believe that Trump will run as a third-party candidate–the types of businesses that Trump would need to rely on generally don’t take Monopoly money as payment, and I can’t see him either parting with whatever actual cash he has or being able to get others to give him that kind of money. But that line of thought did raise two thoughts:
1) Can debts acquired running for office be discharged in a bankruptcy?
2) Can “Donald Trump for President” be incorporated in Maryland as distinct from other Trump holdings and Trump personally?
If the answer to both questions is “yes,” well.. the game is on.
I don’t see Trump running as a 3rd party candidate either. He feeds off of attention and self importance. There are just too many egos in politics.
@ponce:
That was classic. And Donald was pissed. Which makes it even better.
The Republican race is now beyond satire.
@ ponce and doug…
The best part of that was that Obama knew what no one else did. Seal Team 6 was about to take out OBL. So when the pissed off Trump whined about the President having nothing better to do than make fun of him…he made an even bigger fool of himself.
Off topic…have you seen the latest Romney justification for taking Obamas words totally out of context in that ad??? It seem that because all ads are propaganda anyway…total bald-faced lies are perfectly fine.
11 more months of this…fasten your seatbelts…we can’t even imagine what’s yet to come!!!
@Hey Norm:
Yes, this is true
@ponce:
Filed under:
“Welcome to the major leagues, douche bag….”
@Doug Mataconis: I agree, the photo is a classic and I have it in my photo library. It’s foolish but I really hope I don’t have to use it that often. I would be really happy if he just went away but he won’t.
That reeks of desperation.
The only thing Romney has going for him is, unlike Gingrich, he’s supposed to be a decent human being.
@ponce: You realize, of course, that The Donald was only provoked by this. Which is why he’s been meeting with the GOP candidates and is now preparing for this farcical “debate.” He will NOT be mocked!