TRUMP: THE CANDIDATE

Share article:

From Charlie Pierce at Esquire [emphasis added]…

[T]his is the day in which the denizens of the epistemically closed hallucinatory menagerie of the political right become reality. The conjuring words finally have worked. The black spirits of the conservative imagination walk the landscape, making news.

Donald Trump, [will] actively pretend to run for president this time around, and … announced his intentions in a speech that apparently was written by elves who learned English 20 minutes before Trump walked on stage.

“Politicians are all talk, no action. Nothing is going to get done. They will not bring us, believe me, to the promise land. They will not. I’ve been on the circuit making speeches and I hear my fellow Republicans – and they’re wonderful people, I like them! They all want me to support them! – … I watch the speeches of these people and they say, ‘The sun will rise, the moon will set! All sorts of wonderful things will happen!'”

Personally, I think saying that the sun will rise and the moon will set are two of the easiest campaign promises to keep ever.

Trump’s vaguely paragraph-like globs of words were shot through with magical spells. There’s this doctor he knows who doesn’t like the Affordable Care Act. There’s this manufacturer he knows who’s having trouble with China. They all call Trump — perhaps through his bridgework, perhaps not — and unburden themselves on him because they know that Trump is the person who can solve their problems because he is a problem-solver on the art of the deal, the four bankruptcies notwithstanding.

He is the inevitable result of 40 years of political conjuring, mainly by Republicans, but abetted by far too many Democrats as well. He is the inevitable product of anyone who ever argued that our political institutions should be run “like a business.” … He is the inevitable product of anyone who ever argued why the government can’t balance its books “the way any American family would.” He is the inevitable result of the deregulated economy that was deregulated out of a well-cultivated wonder and awe directed at the various masters of the universe. Sooner or later, all of this misbegotten magical thinking was going to burp up a clown like Donald Trump.

Only quibble with Pierce here: Trump is not “pretend[ing] to run” for President. He’s actually running. And anybody who ‘misunderestimates’ what the Republican Party has become at this point — who they would actually nominate as their standard bearer and, by extension, who they might actually be able to get “elected” in the US of A in 2016, through any means necessary — does so at their own peril…

Share article:

--- COMMENTS follow below Ad Content ---

Reader Comments on

TRUMP: THE CANDIDATE

No Comments yet.

(Comments are now closed.)


--- Ad Content ---

BB SIDEBAR NOTICE

Thanks to you, The BRAD BLOG has been trouble-making and muckraking for … 22 YEARS!!!

Please help The BRAD BLOG, BradCast and Green News Report remain independent and 100% reader and listener supported in our 23rd YEAR!!!

ONE TIME
any amount...

MONTHLY
any amount...

OR VIA SNAIL MAIL
Make check out to...
Brad Friedman / BRAD BLOG
7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594
Los Angeles, CA 90028

RECENT POSTS

‘Green News Report’ – June 16, 2026

With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

Deal or No Deal in Iran, Trump is Losing his War on America: ‘BradCast’ 6/16/2026

One court loss after another (but not for the Knicks!) over an otherwise very distracting weekend; Plus: Callers ring in!...

80-Year Old President Now Underwater in Almost Every State

Including Florida, Texas, Ohio...

Sunday ‘Happy Birthday’ Toons

THIS WEEK: 80 47 ... Deal or No Deal? ... FIFA on ICE ... Trump 💖 Inflation ... Platner and Pigs ...

Trump’s Name Removed from Kennedy Center Building

UPDATES: Court rejects last minute appeal, rules name must come down off building; Workers build scaffolding solely to obscure removal; By Saturday morning, name is reportedly down, sign still curtained off...

Trump Policies Imperiling Social Security, Depleting Trust Fund; ‘BradCast’ 6/11/2026

Guest: Nancy Altman of Social Security Works; Also: FL Supremes okay GOP's unconstitutional U.S. House map; Ebola outbreak explodes amid U.S. leadership vacuum...

‘Green News Report’ – June 11, 2026

With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

Maine Dems Elect Platner in Landslide: ‘BradCast’ 6/10/2026

Repub Hilton 'wins' slot in CA Guv general election; Inflation spikes again; New U.S. solar milestones despite Trump; Primary results from ND, NV, SC and ME...

Corporate Donors to White House Ballroom Win $50 Billion in New Government Contracts, Funding: ‘BradCast’ 6/9/2026

Guest: Robert Weissman of Public Citizen; Also: Updates on the races for CA Guv, L.A. Mayor, Trump's evidence-free allegations of election fraud...

‘Green News Report’ – June 9, 2026

With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

‘Crooked or Stupid’: Trump Rails Against ‘Rigged’ CA Elections, Offers No Evidence, Storms off Interview: ‘BradCast’ 6/8/2026

Counting continues in CA; Critical ME primary tomorrow; Also: Callers ring in, some who have fallen for phony rightwing 'voter fraud' claims...

Sunday ‘Tick Tick Tick Tick’ Toons

THIS WEEK: Breaking News at CBS ... On the Money ... Iran and Iran We Go ...

‘I’m not a Victim. I was a Criminal’: J6er Says ‘No’ to Trump’s ‘Weaponization’ Slush Fund Money: ‘BradCast’ 6/4/2026

Guest: Convicted MAGA rioter Jason Riddle; Also: Pelley charges new CBS execs pushing 'falsehoods', 'bias' into '60 Minutes'...

‘Green News Report’ – June 4, 2026

With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

About Brad Friedman...

Brad is an independent investigative journalist, blogger and broadcaster. Full Bio & Testimonials… Media Appearance Archive… Articles & Editorials Elsewhere… Contact…

He has contributed chapters to these books…
…And is featured in these documentary films…

BRAD BLOG ON THE AIR!

THE BRADCAST on KPFK/Pacifica Radio Network (90.7FM Los Angeles, 98.7FM Santa Barbara, 93.7FM N. San Diego and nationally syndicated, Monday-Thursday, on many other affiliate stations! ALSO VIA PODCAST: RSS/XML feed | Pandora | TuneIn | Apple Podcasts/iTunes | iHeart | Amazon Music
GREEN NEWS REPORT, nationally syndicated, with new episodes on Tuesday and Thursday. ALSO VIA PODCAST: RSS/XML feed | Pandora | TuneIn | Apple Podcasts/iTunes | iHeart | Amazon Music
Media Appearance Archives…

--- Ad Content ---

ADDITIONAL STUFF

Brad Friedman/
The BRAD BLOG Named...

Buzz Flash's 'Wings of Justice' Honoree
Project Censored 2010 Award Recipient
The 2008 Weblog Awards