Donald Trump has been in the news a lot, don’t you think? But why? Such an obvious question and yet it seems like there’s no clear answer. Well, I had the opportunity to interview Donald Trump and ask him those sort of questions and a whole lot more. In the interview, Mr. Trump seems candid. He is certainly confident. I hope you enjoy this fictitious, and oddly insightful, interview:
Henry Chamberlain: Thank you for doing this interview, Mr. Trump.
Donald Trump: Glad to be here.
HC: I wanted to start with an observation I made some years back. It was on an episode of “The Apprentice.” I remember that you fired a team leader over the name of the brand he chose to use. He went with a name that began with a lower case letter like, or example, he used “munchies,” instead of beginning with an upper case letter, like “Munchies.” You said you couldn’t work with someone who would make such a huge mistake. But it wasn’t a mistake. It was a style choice. You insisted that it was a flat out mistake and that you’d never seen such a style choice made before.
DT: Do we use a lower case letter to begin the word, America? I rest my case.
HC: I have friends who support you.
DT: Of course you do!
HC: I don’t question their integrity or anything like that. What I think has happened is that it’s so easy to get caught up in the hoopla of your campaign.
DT: Look, we’re going to be doing great things, really fantastic stuff.
HC: I liked the interview you did with Jimmy Kimmel.
DT: I like Kimmel.
HC: At least, he was able to bring up the fact that the character of Biff in “Back to the Future” is supposed to be based on you.
DT: Sounds like fun.
HC: I think the problem is that the media does not want to be too hard on you in fear of tearing down such valuable entertainment content. At the end of the day, you’re an entertainment goldmine.
DT: Listen, it’s going to take a gold standard in leadership to get us out of this mess we’re in.
HC: Every time it looks like you’ve stepped on a political landmine, you survive. If the media wanted to focus on your outrageous statements alone, they could. But they keep moving on. Just the one statement you made about viewing thousands of Muslims celebrating on September 11, 2001 would be enough to end the career of most politicians. Just the video of you mocking the disability of a New York Times reporter which you don’t like would be enough to end the career of most politicians.
DT: Look, what this country needs is less of your typical politician. Remember, I am not a politician. I am beholden to no one. When you get me, you get one hundred percent me.
HC: It’s interesting how your outrageous proposals, by default of the media’s inaction, are given credibility. It’s like out of a bad movie to propose a wall along the Mexican border. It’s like out of a bad movie to propose to keep Muslims out of the country.
DT: Listen, these are extraordinary times that demand extraordinary vision.
HC: When do you think your campaign will come to an end?
DT: I’m sorry, I don’t follow.
HC: When will you have had enough fun with this?
DT: Believe me, I’m having a lot of fun. People are having a lot of fun, feeling good about America. I’ve only just begun.
HC: Do you really believe you’ll go head to head with Hillary Clinton?
DT: Please, such a low energy person and with a whole lot of other problems, if you know what I’m saying.
HC: Is there a place for Jeb Bush in a Trump administration?
DT: Ah, a little joke. I appreciate that. Well, you know, I think he’s proven it’s time for him to retire.
HC: Will Trump Force One replace Air Force One?
DT: We’re looking into that.
HC: Thank you for your time, Mr. Trump.
DT: Glad to do it.
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Review: TRUMP by Ted Rall
TRUMP is an informative guide on Donald Trump presented in a comics format by Ted Rall, published by Seven Stories Press. It is not a satire, nor is it a bombastic attack on Mr. Trump. In fact, if you were only to read a brief passage here or there, you might even warm up a bit to the human being that is Donald J. Trump. Yes, of course, this is a human being we’re talking about. To his credit, Trump has provided quite a reality check to what has usually been a rather rote and bloodless presidential campaign process. Well, the powers that be would much prefer it to work that way. But there’s always room for some sort of change. The last hopeful sign of it was the rise of Barack Obama. This time around, some would have you believe that the winds of change are for Trump. With Ted Rall’s compact and concise guide, you might pick up on a number of facts that have gotten lost in the whirlwind.
When one sings a high note, it is essential to leave room for the climb up. And so it is with Rall’s rendition of events. Rall has had a glorious career in comics leaning hard left or involving highly-charged pieces railing against the status quo. But, through it all, I believe Ted Rall has always had something interesting to say. I’ve had the pleasure to review two of his recent books, also with Seven Stories Press: a bio of Edward Snowden; and a bio on Bernie Sanders. SNOWDEN paved the way for some of Rall’s best work. The format of crisp chapters that hit the main points to each topic leads to greater clarity and seems to foster a well-balanced approach.
Trump, a pacifist? Not so much.
Of course, Rall wouldn’t be Rall without some provocation. In the case of TRUMP, Rall is playing fair where he can. Sure, Trump has proven to be a good guy in regards to his own family. Yes, Trump has made the establishment cringe in much needed ways. Who else but Trump would dare to so pointedly criticize the U.S. invasion of Iraq? Well, no Republican dared to cross the Bush dynasty in the way Trump did. Like it or not, that rebuke of the war in Iraq was nothing less than brilliant. However, Rall, while giving Trump some credit, is also building a case that a Trump administration would be fascist. In fact, Rall brings up a comparison to Hitler a number of times.
What makes Rall’s argument work is that he thoughtfully and logically presents the facts. Ironically, as it were, Rall does agree with Trump that America, overall, has been in decline these last forty years or so. But Trump is only exploiting a vulnerability. He heavily relies on his charisma and empty slogans. He blames races of people for America’s problems. And, while he was against the war in Iraq, he shows no qualms about “bombing the hell out of ISIS.” Rall refers back to, Robert Paxton, a history professor he studied under at Columbia. Paxton wrote the definitive, “The Anatomy of Fascism.” Of Trump, Paxton says, “He’s very spontaneous. He has a genius for sensing the mood of a crowd and I think to some degree Hitler and Mussolini had those qualities also. I do not think he’s learned this from a book.”
When the U.S. government could have saved Main Street, it sided instead with Wall Street.
Or is it possible that much, if not all, of what Trump has said and promised on the campaign trail is a bunch of blustery hooey? Rall’s book came out in time to tap into the recurring theme about Trump supporters: They are willing to overlook his offensive statements and take it with a grain of salt. The overriding goal for them is change. Let Trump be Trump and let him give an upturned middle finger to the political elite. It’s a fairly sophisticated stance coming from what most of the media is willing to dismiss as a steaming pile of racist buffoons.
Trump has been Professor Harold Hill to America’s vulnerable River City. Like that masterful Pied Piper, Trump has ingratiated himself with a larger-than-life persona only to come up woefully short on any of his outrageous promises. Trump has inspired Ted Rall to write this book about him and make a case for him being a fascist! But, alas, Trump may prove to be the most empty suit of them all.
TRUMP is a 192-page trade paperback in full color. For more details, visit Seven Stories Press right here.
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Filed under Barack Obama, Comics, Donald Trump, Great Recession, Hillary Clinton, Political Cartoons, politics, Seven Stories Press
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