Donald Trump made news once again this past week. Yes, he himself created the opportunity to make headlines, and yes, it turned out that it was a huge disappointment to many who were anticipating some promised enormous announcement that would potentially change the outcome of the upcoming election, which are less than a couple of weeks from now.
Trump was talking the talk, as he always does, of course. And, as such things tend to do, there were also rumors, and all sorts of speculation about what the big announcement might be, what it might involve. There were some who speculated that it was perhaps divorce papers between Barack and Michelle. There was a lot of discussion and Google research, but we would all have to wait until Wednesday (yesterday), to find out what it is.
Well, as with much concerning Donald Trump, it really was much ado about nothing. His big announcement was actually an offer to pay five million dollars towards charity if President Obama would reveal his college records.
Now, it is time for me to reveal something here, that maybe others long suspected, but let me go ahead and say it anyway: I never liked "The Donald", and furthermore, never understood why he seemed so damn popular, when he seemed (to me) to so clearly embody all that was wrong with our society, rather than what was right.
He has been a huge celebrity since the 1980's, and the days when he was marrying supermodels and seen on ringside in prize fights. He seemed to be everywhere, and perfectly embodied the "Me Decade".
Since then, of course, he officially declared bankruptcy, but bounced back with a vengeance. Look around you today, particularly in some of America's (and the world's) big cities, and there is a decent chance that you will have some towering skyscraper that is named after Trump.
If you like power, than this man is indeed impressive, something that you should dream about and aspire to. Who wouldn't want that kind of money and power, right? Who would not want to be so brash and businesslike all of the time?
Yet, if you viewed him through more moderate eyes, without the unconditional envy, then what you have left is a shallow man who really proved long ago that he was not worth all of the headlines. Here is the real life Gordon Gekko, or at least someone who embodies it closer than most. Here is a ruthless man who cuts backdoor deals and seems to surround himself with sleazy company (like he did in the 1980's with Don King), hobnobbing and rubbing elbows with other elites like him, or those who are trying to be more like him.
Obviously, he enjoys the attention. However, is he deserving of it? What does he have to offer, after all, beyond attempts at shock value that prove, ultimately, to be transparently self-serving (such as this "big" announcement). He himself was a candidate for President earlier this year, and for a while, it looked like he might have somewhat of a chance. That did not last long, of course, but he tried. After that, he tried to play the big wheeler and dealer by selling his support, and eventually found the right man for the job, as he saw fit: the also filthy rich Romney. He endorsed him verbally, despite some tensions between the two men in the past, evidently, and he also endorsed his campaign financially. In the process of his Presidential campaign, he had been the loudest in demanding to see the President's birth certificate, when that was the flavor of the moment.
Now, he is trying to make more news, and trying to force Obama to reveal some records from college, which Obama attended decades ago, and which, frankly, has nothing to do with the upcoming election, or whether or not the nation will be better off with either Obama or Romney. It is just a gimmick, and quite transparent.
Instead of questions raised about the President, it raises some questions about Trump himself. Why can't this guy not open his mouth for five minutes? Why does he always feel the need to make news?
More importantly, why do we, collectively as a society, empower him with the ability to continue doing what he has been doing now for decades, when he clearly exemplifies, time and again, what is wrong with America, rather than what is right with America?
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