The Apprentice President

 The Apprentice President

I recently saw a “man on the street” reporter ask a twenty-something why he liked Trump. His simple answer was one I had heard repeated many times, “He tells it like it is.” I will forgive this young man’s naivete and blame it on his limited experience and our marginal educational system. The richest and most powerful nation in the world ranks down around 13th place among developed countries. I will also place some of the blame on a government that allowed things to get to a point where they were so screwed up that a game show host would look better than the status quo. Trump won the 2016 election with the help of our Gordian Knot presidential electoral system we call the Electoral College, He got a few things right but, like his history in business, he got a lot wrong. Now he dares to test our short-term memory with his, “Are you better off,” question.

I will also have to give credit where credit is due to the Trumpster. He follows in a long line of hucksters, con men, and religious hustlers who use the vagaries of language to spew enough nonsensical crap to fill an unabridged dictionary. Somewhere within that word salad bar, everyone can find something that sounds appealing. While Jesus spoke in parables, Trump and his “mini-me” Vance speak in a mind-numbing language of lies, half-truths, and intentional misinformation. Listen long enough and you can hear something that sounds like a solution to your problems.

Much like 12-year-old Regan (not Reagan) in The Exorcist, Trump can projectile word vomit and then speak in tongues to the delight of audiences everywhere. Unlike the movie vomit that was a mixture of corn syrup, food coloring, and cake dye, what is emitted from the oval orifice below Trump’s nose is a foul blend of hate speech, insults, lies, and promises of a life better than the last time he was at the helm of our country. Instead of “telling it like it is,” our orange-faced wannabe two-timer is pulling out the stops to do an end run on the Justice system to pardon himself and those he tricked during his kicking and screaming exit in January of 2021. He also plans to revive the cash cow that came along with his 2016 presidential term.

While Kamala Harris “wants” to be president, Donald Trump “needs” to be president. Some of his followers may like him because they think “he tells it like it is,” while others trust him because he has created the myth that he has been a wildly successful businessman. In a September 17, 2024, interview with the authors of a new book titled, "Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune And Created The Illusion Of Success," they told the story behind Trump’s mirage of riches. You can find the interview online so I won’t say any more than that Trump has failed many, many times in his shotgun “let’s see what sticks” form of business investment. His failures in his casino and real estate ventures were offset by his stint on The Apprentice and the endorsements he could tie to the successful show. The Apprentice is now gone so Trump “needs” to revive his persona as The Apprentice President.

I can understand the general frustration with our government. Our nation is complex and beyond the understanding of a single person who might be president. Therein lies the problem with the conservative Project 2025 which wants to simplify matters by putting one person in total control of everything. That might look good on paper but even a casual look will find the many pitfalls with this proposal. Even a vague knowledge of history will tell you how that has worked out for those who will be so governed.

We are a nation of individuals each with our own tinted glasses to filter what we see. Our biases can be based on personal experiences, religious beliefs, and cultural traditions. If you are looking to find acceptance of your racist/anti-Semitic/homophobic/xenophobic ideas, look no further. Somewhere within Trump’s ramblings you will find all these things mentioned, winked, nodded, or otherwise given the DJT seal of approval. If you think all abortion should be banned, Trump is with you. If you think there are many reasonable exceptions to a total ban on abortions, you will find that Trump has supported that position too. Whatever side of an argument you might be on, you can find a Trump video clip or Tweet to back your position.

Trump, The Presidential Apprentice, Season One, saw him held partly in check by advisors and experienced personnel who still had a shred of national pride and decency. If Trump, The Presidential Apprentice, The Sequel ever comes to be, just know that those guardrails have been removed. The training wheels have been removed. He will be free to treat our nation like he treats his many business ventures. If you are willing to throw our nation up against the wall to “see what sticks,” then perhaps you don’t know the man’s history like you should. If you want to vote for someone because you think they “tell it like it is,” you might want to know if they are right. Do they normally tell the truth?