DONALD Trump is a master showman and not a jester. The property mogul and TV reality show host is living up to his role in his bid to be the official candidate of the Republican Party. And when people thought he was just fortunate to have trounced early in the primaries the other leading contenders--Ted Cruz an Marco Rubio--after Super Tuesday, Trump can now brag that he is genuinely the front-runner in the Republican contest.
When Trump first broached the idea of running for president, nobody took it seriously. A clown for a president? Even when he got into the campaign bandwagon, he received nothing but generally negative reviews as the man has defied convention with his outrageous demeanor and at times hateful speeches. But then he has been gaining supporters that believe he can make America great again. Trump's slogan is not even original, being a copy of that in 1965 when Ferdinand Marcos promised to make the Philippines great again. We know where Marcos led us to -- one of the darkest episodes in Philippine history.
It is rather disturbing when "Trumpeters" (Trump supporters) give thundering applause on Trump's plan to put up a high fence on the border of Mexico (that could well be called "The Great Wall of America") or do nothing when he demeans a Muslim during a rally. He continues to gain traction though he defied CNN debate rules and went ballistic against opponents as well as when he failed to state with conviction that he is against Klu Klux Klan and the ideology of White Supremacy.
Why the "Trump Phenomena"? I guess it has to do with television and entertainment. Trumpeters maybe mostly people who are glued to television and want entertainment. Reality shows are more interesting than the games that politicians play. When President Barack Obama delivered his final State of the Union Address, people were more interested with Super Bowl and the half-time performances of Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyonce.
Actually, we had a similar experience in the Philippines when voters believed that the screen hero Joseph Estrada would give a happy ending for the Philippines during his term, considering that he would always do that in his films. He ended up convicted of plunder, yet voters are still enamored with him and brought him back to power as mayor of Manila. Such is the power of entertainment.
The Republican Party is now in a quandary on how to deal with Donald Trump. His ideology, his antics and his hairstyle (?) may be too much for a mainstream political party to take. Its leaders are afraid that Trump will bring the party down the gutter that could impact in its representation in the US Congress and the US Senate.
With the Democrats ready to embrace Hillary Clinton as its candidate, the Republican Party may not want Donald Trump as her opponent, simply because he does not represent the ideals and values of the party. But surely Trump won't allow that to happen, as he has invested to much financially in this political undertaking.
If there is a quote from Trump that is prophetic, it is this: "One of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace. Good people don't go into government." He must be running for president because he is a disgrace and he isn't a good person.