For the sake of this exercise, we are going to suspend disbelief, take a huge leap of faith and listen to the friends and former Apprentice contestants who defend Donald Trump and deny that he is a racist anti-Semite. We will put aside all of the indications to the contrary and simply take Amarosa, Scott Baio and the Duck Dynasty guy's words for it. He’s just a refreshingly blunt patriot who doesn’t subscribe to political correctness and tells it like it is.
So, if he is in fact, not a racist -- then what would be the explanation for twice being sued by the Justice Department for racially discriminating against black people who were trying to rent his apartments; leading the birther movement against President Obama; refusing to disavow former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke; saying that among the tiki torch wielding maniacs chanting "Sieg Heil," "Blood and Soil," and "Jews will not replace us" were some “really fine people”; and morally equivocating between Neo Nazis and those protesting in opposition?
Most recently, he's doubled down on his defense of confederate monuments -- clearly unable to comprehend the symbolic significance nor the difference between a George Washington monument and tributes to generals who made it their life's mission to retain slavery. It's as if he thought that having a single African American man perched on his shoulder with a poster reading "Blacks for Trump" would shield him from accusations of racism as he teased a pardon of vocal anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio and promised that "If we have to close down our government, we're building that wall!" Similarly, he seems to believe that Jared and the grandkids inoculate him from accusations of anti-semitism, despite his flirtation with white nationalism and countless ‘you people are great negotiators’ comments.
Is all of this just a big fuck you to the liberal media? Is he simply a child, so desperate to be liked that he panders to the lowest common denominator -- the fringe that actually sees him as he wishes to be perceived? Is he merely a reckless, petulant, child having an epic, ongoing tantrum at our country’s (and the world's) expense? Is it possible that he’s just that simple?
As with most toddlers, subtlety and nuance are entirely lost on him -- as are facts and details. He has no sense of history, symbolism or the power of language. And he clearly has zero concern about the impact that his words and actions have on people or the consequences for our nation. His allegiance is to himself, his ego and to his immediate family -- in that order.
I don't imagine he sits around the White House reading Mein Kampf, dreaming of a Fourth Reich. That would require him to read something other than a FOX News chyron. It's more likely that he lounges around that dump, eating ice cream while scouring media clippings of himself and watching television fit for a Fourth-grader -- which is possibly even scarier.