Three days ago was Super Tuesday, which was super for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, each of whom won primaries in seven states, and to a much lesser degree for Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio also won the caucus in Minnesota, reminding me of the expression “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.”
But the overriding conclusion from Tuesday is that Donald Trump will be the GOP nominee. Don't get me wrong, I want Trump to win his party's nomination. I think.
That brings me to John Oliver who, in his HBO show "Last Week Tonight," skewered Donald Trump hilariously. Apparently Trump, in getting even with Jon Stewart, whose "Daily Show" often lampooned The Donald, tweeted that Stewart had changed his last name from Leibowitz and suggested that “He should be proud of his heritage.”
Well, thanks to Oliver, we now learn that the Trump family name was originally Drumpf.
In a brilliant 20-minute rant, Oliver exposed Trump (or should I say Drumpf?) for his excessive hypocrisy. (Google “Oliver Destroys Trump” and get ready to laugh.)
Mitt Romney has called Drumpf a phony and a fraud and said his promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. But frankly, it's hard to see a way to stop Drumpf from getting the nomination. This despite gaffes that would have obliterated others. The latest came when CNN's Jake Tapper asked The Donald if he would disavow David Duke's support or the support of white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
Instead of saying “I reject all support from hate groups,” Drumpf lied. “I don't know anything about David Duke or white supremacists.” Really? In 2000, Drumpf said “David Duke is a bigot.” The next day Drumpf said the whole problem was the earpiece he was given by CNN was cheap and faulty. That makes “The dog ate my homework” sound plausible.
Contrary to popular opinion, Trump has obvious insecurities. Anybody who brags incessantly about his wealth, or spends 90 minutes a day preparing his hair, or is vengeful at the least slight, clearly has “issues.” As for the KKK fiasco, I think it's simply that Drumpf didn't want to turn away votes, racist or otherwise. And clearly Trump is the candidate for racists.
But why did Drumpf say John McCain was no war hero? Perhaps it was because moderator Frank Luntz had praised McCain and not Drumpf. Afterwards The Donald lied saying that he did say McCain was a war hero. And he did. Except he said it sarcastically. “Yeah, John McCain is a war hero” as if to say “Give me a break.”
Drumpf also lied to Carly Fiorina. He said Fiorina's face was too ugly to be president. (Is Donald the world's shallowest man?) But, on the debate stage, Drumpf said shamelessly, “I personally think Carly has a beautiful face and is beautiful on the inside.” The moment was so completely false it was cringe worthy.
The David Duke fiasco brought criticism of Drumpf. Referring to bigotry, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican party there can be no evasion and no games.” Drumpf responded in a free-wheeling press conference, “I'll get along fine with Ryan” adding like a schoolyard bully, “and if not, he'll pay a big price, okay?” (Threatening the Speaker of the House?)
Standing behind Drumpf, was a mournful-looking Chris Christie who has the lowest polls numbers in New Jersey Governor's history. With eyes darting back and forth, Christie looked more like a hostage than a supporter. On the campaign trail Christie had said frequently, “Donald has no business running for president,” and questioned Drumpf's disturbing volatile temperament and stunning policy ignorance.
Drumpf has praised ruthless dictators such as Putin, Hussein and Kim Jong-un and proudly repeated a quote of Benito Mussolini. In defense, he said “They all were leaders,” causing some to call Drumpf the “American Caesar.” Meanwhile, Donald Jr. gave a radio interview to a white supremacist whose goal is “to grow the percentage of Whites in the world.” Yikes!
Since last June, Drumpf has been an equal opportunity vulgarian, insulting, among others: Mexicans, women, blacks, Muslims, Chinese, the Pope, John McCain and the disabled. His motto could be “Make American Hate Again.” Internationally, when Time Magazine made Angela Merkel their Person of the Year, like a spoiled child, Drumpf tweeted petulantly, “She's ruining Germany.”
I shudder at the thought of Drumpf at a Summit or, worse, dealing with something like the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Heaven help us if Drumpf's finger gets in the same room as the nuclear button.
In closing, please forgive me if this column isn't high-quality. I had a faulty ear piece. Obviously, that makes zero sense. If you ask me, it didn't when Drumpf used it, either.
For more, go to www.Trumpquestions.com and for a very funny video Google “Trump Producers.”
Jack Neworth is at facebook.com/jackneworth, twitter.com/jackneworth and jnsmdp@aol.com.
