Is Donald Trump trying to sabotage the Republican Party?
| Washington
Is Donald Trump trying to sabotage the Republican Party? We ask because it doesn鈥檛 look to us as if he鈥檚 helping GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney at the moment.
Picture this scene: You鈥檝e got Mitt making a final, earnest appeal to voters concerned about the economy. Then The Donald comes bursting through the door like Kramer into Jerry Seinfeld鈥檚 apartment, shouting about college records and charities and $5 million. Will the wavering voters stay put? Or will they flee down the hall while saying 鈥渨e鈥檒l think about it鈥� over their shoulders?
OK, let鈥檚 back up a bit and explain. If you鈥檝e read this far you鈥檝e surely heard of Mr. Trump鈥檚 stupendous, world-changing, election-settling (to him) offer that he鈥檒l give $5 million to a charity of President Obama鈥檚 choice if Mr. Obama will release his college applications and passport records. Trump hyped this for days. The reaction, in general, has been less than kind.
Barbara Walters opined that he was making a fool of himself. Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin brought up his past donations to Democrats and called him a 鈥渢ea party pretender.鈥� Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) of California offered him $50 if he would stop trying to make the election about himself.
鈥淚f at any point you seriously considered Donald Trump for president, please study the error of your ways in quiet, private contemplation,鈥� .
The reasons for Democratic animus are obvious. Trump鈥檚 bringing up the discredited 鈥渂irther鈥� argument all over again, implying that there鈥檚 stuff in Obama鈥檚 past that discredits him from holding the Oval Office. But why the negative reaction now from the right? Trump led GOP polls way back at the beginning of primary season, if you remember. He鈥檚 long questioned the circumstances of Obama鈥檚 birth.
Yes, but now the election is only days away. At this point, everyone who truly believes in the birther stuff is already going to vote against Obama. Bringing it up all over again can鈥檛 help Mr. Romney make any gains on that score.
Romney鈥檚 final arguments instead seem calibrated to woo voters who went for Obama in 2008 and still like him but are disappointed in the job he鈥檚 done. They are unhappy that the economy鈥檚 still sluggish, that partisanship still rules D.C., and so on. The Romney campaign has been saying in essence that it鈥檚 OK to feel that way: You can like Obama and yet still vote against him.
The discredited birther stuff and further insinuations about Obama鈥檚 character are not calculated to appeal to this slice of the electorate. If anything, it will drive them away. That would be Politics 101, and we鈥檙e pretty sure Trump is shrewd enough to know that. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e asking whether he鈥檚 actually trying to sabotage Romney鈥檚 chances.
Other theories: He鈥檚 just trying to get more attention for 鈥�Celebrity Apprentice,鈥� and he doesn鈥檛 really care about politics; he鈥檚 a secret Obama supporter angling to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State in a second term; or 鈥淒onald Trump鈥� is actually a performance artist working in character, like Stephen Colbert.
It鈥檚 also possible he鈥檚 tired of all the attention and he鈥檚 trying to stop Trump coverage the only way he knows how. As Lloyd Grove writes in The Daily Beast, it鈥檚 been fun to cover Trump, but in light of the latest developments, it鈥檚 best to stop writing about him. At least until after Election Day.
鈥淲e at The Daily Beast offer out own announcement [to Trump]: effective immediately ... we will ignore you and your hot air for the foreseeable future,鈥� .
