At the Republican CNBC presidential debates last month, the following exchange took place between moderator John Harwood and candidate Donald Trump:
HARWOOD: Mr. Trump, you've done very well in this campaign so far by promising to build a wall and make another country pay for it.
TRUMP: Right.
HARWOOD: Send 11 million people out of the country. Cut taxes $10 trillion without increasing the deficit.
TRUMP: Right.
HARWOOD: And make Americans better off because your greatness would replace the stupidity and incompetence of others.
TRUMP: That's right.
HARWOOD: Let's be honest.
(LAUGHTER)
Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?
TRUMP: No, not a comic book, and it's not a very nicely asked question the way you say that.
I too wasn't very nice, and back in July had written a piece for the Huffington Post entitled Gotham City's Newest Batman Villain: "The Donald," which can be read by clicking here.
At any rate, Harwood's question resonated with me as it combined two of my favorite areas of interest--politics and comic characters. It caused me to rethink what other such characters Trump resembles. He certainly has the temperament of Donald Duck--angry with a very low threshold of tolerance for any real or perceived threat. (Rubio and Bush are his tormentors, Chip and Dale.) And Trump has the money of Scrooge McDuck and Richie Rich. Or perhaps he's more akin to Montgomery Burns from The Simpsons-- rich, ruthless, and taking great joy in firing people.
What about the other presidential candidates? Here is my list, but please feel free to leave your own alternative alter-egos in the comments section below.
Ben Carson, who attempted to slam his mother with a hammer:
Stewie from Family Guy, who often tries to kill his own mom--naughty naughty!
Carly Fiorina: Cruella De Vil.
Jeb Bush: Goofy.
Chris Christie: Nelson from The Simpsons or Cartman from South Park.
Marco Rubio: Dopey.
Ted Cruz: Yosemite Sam.
John Kasich: Charlie Brown.
Rand Paul: Daffy Duck.
Mike Huckabee: Foghorn Leghorn.
Lindsey Graham: Sleepy.
Rick Santorum: Linus from Peanuts.
Bobby Jindal: Apu from The Simpsons. (Remember, the GOP candidates say we are too politically correct.)
Bernie Sanders: Grumpy.
Martin O'Malley: Mickey Mouse.
Hillary Clinton: Snow White. (Ok, agreed, another example of liberal media bias.)
One thing is for certain. The Mighty Mouse theme song applies to all of them.
Here it is as performed by Andy Kaufman: