Donald Trump & the Great 2012 Presidential Hoax

"I will not be running for president as much as I'd like to," Donald Trump declared suddenly yesterday, after dominating the media headlines over the past six months about how much he loves his country; how he was running for president for the good of the nation; how he was going to “kick China’s ass,” “stuff the oil cartels,” “make the world stop laughing at us,” create jobs,” “undo Obamacare, and solve all the nation’s financial problems.

Trump's reason for quitting: His TV reality show "The Celebrity Apprentice has made a lot of money for charity and I want to continue in that role,” Trump explained.

Of course he wants to continue in that role. It’s not like all the other candidates who really want the job of president; you know, the one’s who are sincere. This man never once had the slightest intention of actually running for president. He doesn’t want that job. He knows he’d never get elected anyway. He carries way too much baggage to even think about it.

The entire charade of his potential candidacy was a lie; a bombastic, entertaining, but empty hoax. It was pure bullshit. It was a bald faced fraud. He did it all to make money, and he’s made money on it. He did it for publicity; name recognition, and he got plenty of that. He did it for his own personal promotion and self aggrandizement – to show how important he is and how many people he could fool.

That is the business of Mr. Trump – marketing Donald Trump. He’s brilliant at it.

"It's very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it," said Trump candidly in January 2002, long before all of this. He warned us. We can’t say he didn’t warn us.

“I screwed Muammar Gaddafi one time on a business deal,” Trump boasted triumphantly not long ago. That statement made me cringe a little. What type of person brags of screwing someone in a business deal, even if the victim was a nasty dictator? He warned us, alright. He warned us shamelessly. His motives couldn’t possibly be more transparent now.

Well done, Mr. Trump. You’ve done it again; no question about it. Your plan was brilliant. Your TV show’s ratings skyrocketed. You made big money. You pulled off another huge deal. Your lucrative show gets another season, and probably more to come.

The only problem is that you did it at the expense of your valuable personal credibility, integrity, and reputation for honesty. Why should anyone ever believe another word you say, Mr. Trump?

I, for one, still have a lot of admiration for Donald Trump; admiration tempered with a great deal of disappointment. He’s only 4 months younger than me. I’ve followed his life and career over the years. He’s led a charmed existence; born with a silver spoon; his father was fabulously wealthy. He’s had a lot of success on his own, though. And, he’s overcome many personal failures too. He’s a very smart businessman.

But now his credibility with me is zero.

I won’t forget how he pulled this scam; how he hounded president Obama mercilessly about his birth certificate; questioned his citizenship; his scholarship; told us gullible Americans how his investigators had looked into the situation and found all manner of amazing juicy facts; facts which never materialized after the president disclosed the record.

And then he had the unmitigated gall to try and turn his obvious failure into a contrived triumph. "I'm so proud of myself,” he crowed, after the long form was made public. “I accomplished something no one else was able to accomplish.” “I'm really honored, frankly," he bragged, "to have played such a big role in getting rid of this issue."

He’s the one who made it an issue. And now he wants credit for making himself the fool.

I won’t forget watching him as he sat stone faced and smoldering at his White House Correspondent’s dinner table while the President of the United States and another funny comedian exposed him for the fraud that he is with their jokes. Trump wasn’t laughing; as if he really expects people to take him seriously about anything now. Maybe that’s when he realized that his game was over.

Trump’s parting shot to Americans: "I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and, ultimately, the general election. I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half-heartedly. Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector."

Right; he turned down the presidency of the United States, a rich prize he surely would have won, so he could continue presiding over his inane TV reality show. Excuse me while I barf.

"I make you this promise: that I will continue to voice my opinions loudly and help to shape our politician's thoughts. My ability to bring important economic and foreign policy issues to the forefront of the national dialogue is perhaps my greatest asset and one of the most valuable services I can provide to this country," Trump concluded.

You bet he will – so long as he thinks he can make a sensational buck on it.