The Donald Trump New Normal Can anyone tell me how a

New Post Public Reply Private Reply Replies (1) Message Board

May 4, 2016 at 9:59 PM

Quote:

The Donald Trump New Normal

Can anyone tell me how a nearly 70 year old graduate of Wharton can use a non-word like 'bigly'? Shouldn't SOME one have corrected him with 'huuuuugely', somewhere along the way?

Gail Collins MAY 4, 2016

This morning we woke up in a nation where Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee for president of the United States. No “Game of Thrones” analogies. This is the real thing.

“We’re going to start winning again and we’re going to win bigly, believe me,” he said on primary night. It had been quite a day. His chief opponent held a press conference to announce that Trump was an “utterly amoral” narcissist and friend to rapists who was “proud of being a serial philanderer.”

Armed with that information, Indiana voters raced off to the polls and awarded Donald a huge win.

In his victory speech, Trump spoke in the much promised “presidential” style, and the big news is that when Donald Trump is being presidential he is incredibly boring.

Also pretty incoherent:

“We have great relationships with many foreign countries, but they have to respect us and they have to understand where we’re coming from. And you know it is a two-way street. And the two-way street means that we’re going down one side and they’re coming up the other.”

“Now, we can keep things going and we’re going to keep things going very nicely. But we owe, soon, $21 trillion. … And we’re just not in the position that we were in 30 years ago, 40 years ago, 50 years ago, when a lot of these things took place and began taking place.”

His family assumed the same vacant-eyed aspect we’ve seen so many times when Chris Christie is in the background. This is not going to work over the long run. Trump can’t deal with an unresponsive audience.

His entire platform is constructed around big applause lines. Last year when he announced his candidacy, the crowd roared when he brought up Mexican rapists. If they’d gone crazy when he mentioned leaf removal, his campaign would have been all about mulching.

Meanwhile, the Republican Trump challengers packed up and went home. Farewell, John Kasich — things could have been worse. You could have been Ted Cruz, who began his week by failing to respond when Carly Fiorina fell off the stage. Who concluded his bowing-out speech by bopping his wife on the nose.

In between, he learned that Trump was connecting his father with John Kennedy’s assassination. Now, Rafael Cruz is a really terrible person, who claims gay marriage is a socialist conspiracy and suggested Barack Obama be sent “back to Kenya.” But there is nothing tying him to Lee Harvey Oswald except a picture run in The National Enquirer. It showed Oswald handing out pro-Castro literature in the company of several other unidentified people, one of whom looked a little like the elder Cruz.

Except there was no evidence the two men knew each other, were ever in the same place at the same time, or … well, you know. National Enquirer.

“That was reported, and nobody talks about it,” Trump said indignantly.

People, this is the point at which I’m supposed to make you feel better by pointing to all the terrible presidential campaigns of the past. I could remind you that the first Republican presidential candidate, John Charles Frémont, was accused of being a cannibal. Or that poor Grover Cleveland was tortured by newspaper stories claiming he was “a boon companion to Buffalo harlots, a drunken, fighting, roistering roué.”

We have had a lot of crazy, scandalous charges in presidential races, some from sources even more unreliable than The National Enquirer. But not by the candidates themselves. You didn’t have James Buchanan strutting around the podium saying, “Oh yeah, I know Frémont. Tasty Bits John, we call him.” Or James Blaine taunting: “Ho, ho, ho, it’s Grover the Rover. “

Trump has a lot to do before the convention in July. He has to put the finishing touches on his financial plan — it currently includes big tax cuts, hiking military spending and paying off the national debt in eight years. Which would leave us with a budget of pretty much zero for everything else. No need to fight about shutting down the government! The government would vanish on its own.

Plus, there’s the veep selection. “I think that, you know, a lot of people are talking about certain names, and certainly those are the names that we’re thinking of,” said Trump. As only he can.

Once you eliminate all the people who have already announced they’d rather be kidnapped by manatees, there’s a pretty short list. Maybe Chris Christie? Never in modern America have we had a presidential ticket composed entirely of guys who specialize in insulting people and yelling at the top of their lungs.

Maybe Ted Cruz? Personally I would really enjoy having a vice-presidential candidate who is on the record as calling the head of the ticket a “pathological liar.” And he does need cheering up.

Newer

Older

Scroll down for more posts ▼

Top 10 Most Recent News Articles

Connecting NIH Data: Transforming Scientific Discoveries

Rethinking How Research Data Drives Discovery When researchers generate truckloads of data, finding patterns that lead to breakthroughs often becomes a game of hide and seek. It's like having a jumbo puzzle with pieces scattered all over the place. Enter the NIH Common Fund Data Ecosystem—a game changer attempting to glue together these pieces across the research...

Crocs™ Gains C2C Circularity Gold for Classic Clogs

Turning Plastic into Gold Well, folks, Crocs isn't just about comfort anymore. They're wrapping their iconic Classic Clog in a shiny new accolade: Cradle to Cradle Certified® Circularity Gold Version 5.0. Imagine that—an award for making something meant to last, designed to be repurposed. They're not just slapping new paint on the same old clogs either. This...

Gildan Faces Fraud Lawsuit: Investors Can Lead Case

Everyone's been dreaming about jackpot profits, huh? Well, for those holding onto Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE: GIL) shares, that bubble just popped. We're staring at a class-action lawsuit for securities fraud, accusing the company of cooking the books. Time for Wall Street's soap opera, folks. Understanding the Allegations Let's get to the grit. According to the lawsuit...

AppLovin Faces Lawsuit: Investor Unrest Unfolds

Shaky Ground Beneath AppLovin's Feet Ah, the sweet smell of litigation in the tech space—it’s like déjà vu for seasoned market folks. Here we have AppLovin, nestled comfortably in San Francisco, now eying a saucy class-action lawsuit. We're looking at shareholders taking a firm stance against some arguably misleading claims. We're talking big deals with allegations...

SAFE's New Website: Engineering Excellence and Faith

A Bold Digital Step for SAFE Structure Designs Now here's a move worth watching. SAFE Structure Designs, that U.S.-rooted defense contractor with its fingers in a multitude of engineering pies, just rolled out a fresh new face on the web. This isn't merely an online facelift; it's a declaration of ambition and capabilities. They're showcasing eight specialized divisions...

DRC's Grand Inga Project Sparks American Interest

Transformative Power: Enter the Grand Inga The winds of change are gusting over the Congo River, with the United States and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) soldiering forward on the Grand Inga hydropower complex. Friends, this isn't just another investment; it's an audacious move aimed at flipping the DRC's power dynamics upside down. Both nations are knee-deep in...

Gildan Activewear Faces Investor Class Action Shakeup

Welcome to the Wild World of Securities You know what's wilder than a bull market run? This latest spin in the securities fraud realm starring Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL). The backdrop? Hagens Berman, the heavy hitters in legal circles specializing in securities fraud and shareholder rights, have rolled up their sleeves and filed a class action lawsuit against...

OSL Unveils Instant Redemption for USDGO Plus SP

OSL's New Move: Instant Redemption on the Table Alright, let's chew over OSL's latest gambit—you know, those folks (HKEX: 863) who are knee-deep in the digital currency swamp. They've launched this "Instant Redemption" feature for these fancy real-world asset products, and USDGO Plus SP is right there at the forefront. Getting the Fine Print Straight Now, not just...

DeFi Technologies Preps Investors for Q3 Insight Session

DeFi Technologies Sets the Stage for Q3 Results When it comes to stirring the pot, DeFi Technologies sure knows how to do it. They're not just flipping the calendar; they're gearing up to lay bare their Q3 2026 financials. The big show? It happens live on November 13, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. EST. Get your coffee ready because you don't want to miss this shareholder call where...

Geopolitical Talks Shake Oil Market, Refine Stocks' Path

Diplomacy Takes Center Stage So here we are again, riding the rollercoaster of geopolitics that's jerking the oil market around like a marionette. With the U.S. and Iran allegedly chatting—mind you, with a ton of smoke and mirrors through Qatar and Islamabad—every trader's watching, hoping for a ceasefire that might either stabilize or further jolt energy prices. Oil...