If I were to have told you five years ago that somewhere in the near future, we would see a candidate whisked into office not based on any previous political accomplishments, not for any stellar track record with the American public, but by the sheer magnitude of his celebrity…
…Wait, did I just describe the Barack Obama circa ’08 or did I just describe Donald Trump?
Let me first state that this is not an endorsement, nor a prediction regarding Donald Trump’s viability as a presidential candidate. I have no idea as to whether an iconic walking haircut with teeth can be elected to the Oval office, but the more I think about it, the less it would surprise me. What is important is that we remember this; Barack Obama the politician was never elected to office. Barack Obama the celebrity was.
The Barack Obama with arguably the most far-left track record in the senate and when he wasn’t voting radically left, he voted a mere “present” at least one hundred and twenty nine times… America didn’t know a thing about that Barack Obama. The Barack Obama who graced the covers of men’s magazines, Hollywood tabloids and was declared “vewwyy sexy” by Barbara Walters, that’s the man who leads this country. He had one thing that no other candidate had and that was his status as a pop-culture icon.
That’s his game-changer, his golden ticket and against The Donald, Barack Obama loses the only trump card he’s ever had.
See what I did there?
Donald Trump takes a backseat to no one when it comes to celebrity (his fearful limo driver notwithstanding). The man was raised wealthy but he set out to garner his own fame. A larger than life character with a polarizing demeanor, everybody knows the Trumpster and they know him well.
As a nine year old, I thought Donald Trump was an absolute jackass. I’d read a magazine interview in GQ where he said something to the effect of “After shaking somebody’s hand, I would never eat bread.” Was he just that arrogant, or does he have a world-class sense of humor? Over twelve years later, I’m still not sure. One thing remains unchanged; I know who Donald Trump is. Whether it’s his number-one rated show on NBC (as he reiterates in every interview he’s ever had) or his list of best-selling books, Trump has created the kind of single-name recognition that few manage to cultivate.
More importantly, it’s becoming more seemingly clear that Donald Trump could just be Obama’s Buster Douglas.
Once a legendary figure of the boxing ring, Mike Tyson ruled the fighting arena. Most importantly, Iron Mike struck so much fear into the hearts of his opponents that one could easily see in the stare-down that they’d had lost the match before the bell had even been rung. That all changed with Douglas. Buster Douglas went in with nothing to lose, and a willingness to engage that Tyson had never seen before. Buster went in and bullied the bully. The Bully was baffled.
That’s Donald Trump today. Whether it’s his raising of the once taboo birth certificate issue (and turning it into a mainstream discussion while doing it), or his running roughshod over Meredith Viera exposing her liberal bias in the process, Donald Trump has shown a willingness to take center-ring like no other candidate in recent memory. He has no fear of the president and win, lose or draw, he’s going to get right in his punim.
Most importantly, Mr. Trump genuinely has nothing to lose. He doesn’t need the money, he doesn’t need the power and he certainly doesn’t need the fame. It seems that Donald Trump genuinely thinks the country is “going to hell” and simply doesn’t want to wait on the sidelines as it happens.
Can he win? Who knows? One thing’s for sure; if Barack Obama makes this another election placing personality over substance, celebrity over accomplishments, I can see only one outcome… Barack Obama, you’re fired.
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