A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED or something.
Real estate mogul Donald J. Trump, who has long toyed with presidential ambitions, said Wednesday he is serious about pursuing a run for the White House — moving ahead with a spate of political hires and delaying his television commitments for 2016.
In recent days, Trump has enlisted several strategists to advise him in three key states, retained an attorney to help him navigate federal election law and alerted GOP officials about his desire to seek the Republican nomination.
Trump said he has also declined to sign on for another season with the entertainment division of NBC, where he hosts “Celebrity Apprentice,” because of his political projects.
Oh this should be amusing.
Open thread.
JPL
When Trump speaks, this is what I hear… blah, blah, blah, blah.
What’s his platform? You, too can become rich by declaring bankruptcy.
Major Major Major Major
Kagan, writing for the minority on that weird fisherman SarbOx case:
While funny, advocating for reading the law literally concerns me. But I just can’t imagine somebody that closely tied to the administration ruling the same in Burwell.
GregB
And Dildo was his name-o
We have to listen to this wind bag simply because he was willed millions by his father.
Iowa Old Lady
Oh yay! Trump! He’s such a fool. I’m so glad he’s going to blather in public.
Does anyone take him seriously? Ha!
Mike in NC
What took him so long to jump into the clown car?
Mike J
@Major Major Major Major: If you read the rest of her opinion, she said that context matters more than what a particular word is. Which is good news in Burwell.
SRW1
And his ticket to the nomination is that he finally has located Obama’s real birth certificate.
Zinsky
This loser has declared bankruptcy multiple times and these nitwit conservatives still hold this toupeed turd burglar up as the archetype for capitalism and success? Pathetic. He is the poster child for why the U.S. government should NOT be run like a business!
PurpleGirl
Advice to Mr. Trump… First, lose the hair. Accept that your hair is grey and your head is balding. Comb the hair back, no part, no coloring, no comb-over. It’s the only way to be taken seriously. (At least Judith Giuliani convinced Rudy to stop the comb-over, because he just didn’t have enough hair for one.)
Patrick
An entire article about Trump, yet not a single question raised about Trump’s insinuation that his investigators had found evidence that Obama had lied about his birth certificate. Way to go Wash Post…
trollhattan
@Mike in NC:
Think he gets concerned whenever there are four cameras out in the world and at least two aren’t aimed at him.
For somebody who’s never been especially important he sure keeps doing the Kardashian thing.
Chrs
Trump Newyorkeus, Rex Trollaeorum.
Burnspbesq
Only if amusing and appalling are synonyms.
Burnspbesq
@Major Major Major Major:
You completely missed the point there. Read the entire opinion.
PurpleGirl
@Zinsky: He has not declared personal bankruptcy. A company controlled by him has declared bankruptcy several times. It still means his business acumen is not what others think it is. He burdens his companies with excessive debt.
Major Major Major Major
@Burnspbesq: I mostly wanted to relay the dr Seuss reference. Maybe when I’ve got a screen bigger than my hand to work with..
Amir Khalid
The Donald is a buffoon. This is obvious as soon as you look at him, long before he opens his yap and says those buffoonish things. As for his claim that he’s hiring people for his presidential campaign, I call bullshit. No one qualified to work on a real campaign would consider him a real candidate.
BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL: You can hit a tipple too, just start by being born on 3rd base.
beltane
If you’re putting on a clown show, it helps to have an actual clown. Let’s face it, Donald Trump is as close a thing to Bozo the Clown as we;ll ever see running for president.
catclub
@PurpleGirl:
That is his business acumen. Putting his name on it gets idiots to loan it money.
PurpleGirl
@trollhattan: He invented it.
(Just my not-so humble opinion having had watch him for many years.)
Calouste
@Zinsky: As a good pinko-commie I’ll recycle a joke:
Q: How did Donald Trump got to be worth $200 million?
A: He inherited $400 million from his dad.
beltane
Donald Trump is a poor man’s Mitt Romney.
catclub
@BillinGlendaleCA:
how about nip a tipple? tip a nipple?
Doug r
How do you go bankrupt with a casino?
The Moar You Know
@Patrick: The ball-washing is sickening, is it not? In a decent world, this kind of asshole with hair that belongs to neither human, factory nor beast wouldn’t be able to run for school board without getting kneecapped by every paper in town.
Motherfucker has gotten a pass on every one of shitty ideas since day 1, because money.
At least he’ll help torpedo the Republican brand a little more, and every little bit helps.
PS: will give him credit for this, Trump Tower in Vegas is a damn nice hotel.
Gin & Tonic
@PurpleGirl: For heaven’s sake, he drove a fucking cas1n0 into bankruptcy.
catclub
@Patrick: I think at any moment, Obama can do something that will destroy whatever pretense to a real campaign Trump is making. The fact that he does not just means he has other things on his mind. Bringing up the birth certificate just as Osama Bin Laden was killed is an example of the other things he has on his plate. Trump knows this and just hopes he can last a while before the Eye is focussed on him – for ridicule.
beltane
@Gin & Tonic: That takes skill. Give the man some credit. Why must liberals always be hating on success?
SiubhanDuinne
Jesus loves me, so he says,
He got Trump to run for Prez.
Jeb and Rand and Rudy (who?)
Walker, Perry, Jindal too.
Chorus: Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Donald tells me so.
Sarah’s hinting at a run
(Pass the popcorn! This is fun!)
Huck and Lindsey, Christie, Cain,
Maybe Mitt will run again.
Chorus: Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Donald tells me so.
Calouste
@Amir Khalid: Thing is, there are more GOP campaign operatives looking for a salary than there are positions on a real Republican presidential campaign, which at the moment is limited to JEB! and, uhm, well…. And a lot of the positions on the JEB! campaign will go to associates of the Bush family. So there will be enough GOP campaign operatives willing to check in with the Hairpiece as long as the checks don’t bounce.
All those folks that were “running” the Gingrich and Santorum campaigns have to go somewhere.
catclub
@Amir Khalid: As someone else said: If the guy in Iowa is getting paid in cash, then Trump is the sucker. If he is taking Trump’s check, then he is the sucker.
It is all about the grift.
Karen in GA
@Amir Khalid:
True. But I doubt he’s smart enough to figure that out.
trollhattan
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I’m hitting a tipple tonight at the local nanobrewer. That’s the plan, anyway.
Karen in GA
@SiubhanDuinne: That is beautiful.
Violet
Uh huh. Ratings aren’t great. Wouldn’t be surprised if NBC is cost cutting and refused to pay his ridiculous fee.
Gin & Tonic
@catclub: I remember reading a story about some helicopter pilot in NH who had a presidential contender on board with a deadline to meet, and said “I’m not taking off until I get paid in cash.”
ranchandsyrup
all of those other times were just brand expansions and TV rating increases but this time it’s for REALZ.
Calouste
@catclub: I don’t think Obama will do that. Trump being in the primaries and not being able to keep his racist claptrap shut might actually turn a few people off from the GOP.
PurpleGirl
@Gin & Tonic: Several of them, in fact.
trollhattan
@PurpleGirl:
It it turns out the Kardashians have just been “doing a Trump” all these years, I’m perfectly open to the sad reveal.
catclub
There can be only one.
catclub
@Calouste: I agree. And Trump is not sufficiently self-aware to figure out why.
The Moar You Know
@Gin & Tonic: Smart pilot. Campaigns routinely stiff everyone working for them. IIRC there were quite a few stories after 2012 suggesting that Romney had been one of the worst ever in that regard.
Which should surprise no one.
SatanicPanic
Here’s an interesting thought experiment- is there a public figure in the USA who, without committing a crime, has more worn out his/her welcome than Trump?
Possible candidates- Sarah Palin, Adam Sandler
Ed
More BS from the Vulgar Attention Whore. No way he’s running.
Mike J
@The Moar You Know: Romney campaign credit cards were deactivated before they pay for rides home from the “victory” party.
Facebones
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No matter how many noises he makes about running, he will never actually run for president.
His whole brand is built on him being comically rich. If he ran for president, he’d have to disclose income and we’d all see he is not as rich as he pretends to be.
He is only doing this to bait gullible reporters into writing about him, which will give him more awareness to rubes so he can boost the ratings on The Apprentice next year and get a show on Fox News. That’s it. It’s the Sarah Palin plan.
When he starts doing meet and greets at diners in rural New Hampshire, let me know. Till then, this is an ego stroke.
MattF
Trump has a job, homme de grift extraordinaire. Doesn’t need or want to be Prezident.
trollhattan
@The Moar You Know:
Remember the tales of Olympics Chairman Romney charging other committee members by the slice for pizza delivered to their (doubtless never-ending) meetings? He’s always that guy.
Villago Delenda Est
Shorter the Donald:
“PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!”
Sweet Jesus on toastpoints, this guy makes three year olds throwing conniptions look like mature, calm, rational adults.
Shana
@The Moar You Know: Didn’t he also deactivate all his campaign workers’ phones on Election Night? Real class act that one.
Sorry, didn’t read to the end of the thread before commenting. Yeah, the credit cards.
bloviator
I don’t know who to attribute this to, I believe it was a former contestant on his TV show. When asked to describe Trump’s hair, this person said
“It looks like cotton candy made from piss.”
I wish I had said that.
burnspbesq
@Doug r:
Lose so much money on the hospitality side that the gaming profits aren’t enough to cover it.
Petorado
Shock, enrage, appall, provoke — yeah, I’m as open to performance art as anyone, but generally believe they should quit their act when the only emotion they exact from the audience is tedium.
jl
I thought Trump already renewed his TV contracts. But if that report was wrong, then good.
Trump must have done some market research indicating a high return on investment for campaign grift if he is going through with really filing papers. Which is an early sign of high yield clown car GOP primary.
I hope for benefits for Democratic nominee.
But, is there a feasible play on this early info for the average small investor? That’s what I want to know. Any specific investment opportunities in yellow-orangish comb-over fright wigs?
WereBear
I find Trump loathsome and what really bugs me is how unhappy he always looks. I’ve never heard a story about him that makes him look good.
It’s a bit of amazing considering he’s every American’s dream come true.
Peale
Well, he is the front-runner for the competition for “Who can insult the Mexicans” the most. At least this week. Who knows how they’ll try to outdo themselves.
Quaker in a Basement
Somebody forgot to put the irony quotes on “serious.”
kabiddle
Thought he would have it down pat by now:
In recent days, Trump has enlisted several strategists to advise him in three key states, retained an attorney to help him navigate federal election law and alerted GOP officials about his desire to seek the Republican nomination.
Brendanyc
Oh, i hope I hope i hope he does!!! This would be so fitting to make plain the content and the quality of the Republican side of political discourse in this country now.
i hope i hope i hope
David Koch
It. Wlll. Never. Happen.
Stop. Falling. For. The. Same. Grift.
He will never run because he would have to file financial disclosure forms and he won’t do that because it would reveal his deeply flawed financial books.
Bill Arnold
Scottish SF writer Charlie Stross has a provocative post where he outlines the long list of political axioms he uses for near/alt future (fictional) world-building among other things. The comment thread is already busy. (There is no claim the axioms are original.)
greenergood
Here in Scotland we hope that he runs for US Prez, to distract him for despoiling ever more acres of Scotland for his wretched, environmentally crappy golf-courses, like we’re the Thailand of the North. Leave him to run for Prez and further despoil Amurrica the White and Fearful after 9/11 than the rest of the world. (No I really don’t want him to run – well, maybe run but not win, just to piss off all those people who thought he had a chance …)
mclaren
Trump’s campaign slogan:
WE SHALL OVERCOMB.
mclaren
@David Koch:
Impossible!
The Republican party is the grift that keeps on griving.
JR
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the biggest endorsement Trump got the last time he played at king was from a hamburger stand owner in Michigan who names his food for late-night hosts and their sidekicks and sells $8 glasses of “miracle water that cures cancer.”
I’m definitely ready for some Trumpmentum.
brantl
Can we just start calling him Tonal Dump? It seems appropriate……
Jado
Is there a bigger fish that Trump is trying to grift? Adelson, or Koch or someone like that with even more money than Trump?
Cause I thought he was a billionaire – even if he’s not, he has to be 100 mil+. If he’s not gonna dump his own money into the campaign, who is he looking to chisel for the campaign fund?
I don’t see the upside, unless it’s just more publicity for his embarrassing and moronic Apprentice shows.
Rasputin's Evil Twin
Oh, lord, the “Short-fingered vulgarian” (to quote SPY Magazine) is “running” for office again? He’s been going to run for everything from NYC mayor to governor to president since 1988, and falls flat at the end. Who cares about this deluded game show host anymore?