Bigotry and stupidity are what have gotten Donald Trump this far into the election, but now they might cost him the nomination… and his fortune. It’s no secret that Trump’s name has gone from ubiquitous to simply inescapable over the course of the past six months. While in the past, Trump was simply known as a blowhard investor and publicity hogging showoff, his bigoted and blinkered views on politics, culture, and racial relations were not generally known to his disadvantage. All that changed the moment Trump threw his hat in the ring to run for the office of President of the United States…
Foot in mouth disease is not a pretty sight on the debate stage. Ever since he filed to run for President, Trump has been on a steady surge of popularity among his target audience – white male Republican voters – while simultaneously losing the good will and potential vote of practically every other group of people who currently live in this country. It all started with Trump’s racist comments regarding Mexicans, a remark that cost him losing the right to broadcast his Miss America pageant on Univision.
From there, Trump has doubled down on incessantly racist, sexist and ignorant remarks, even stooping to insult female challenger Carly Fiorina with remarks concerning her alleged lack of man-pleasing good looks. Trump’s attempt to pawn the remark off as humor by directing it at old enemy Rosie O’ Donnell only confirmed his paleolithic social stance. Since then, Trump’s comments concerning Muslims, as well as juvenile jabs at his fellow candidates, have rained down from the debate stage, simultaneously darkening and cheapening a vital part of the American electoral process. Has Donald Trumped Himself This Time?
MSNBC News personality Rachel Maddow and other political pundits have long questioned whether Trump is really interested in becoming the President of the United States, or if this is all some sort of publicity scam designed to keep his name in the press on a 24 hour per day, 7 day per week basis. If this really is Trump’s way of guaranteeing a maximum payoff for maximum publicity, it seems to be backfiring on him in ways that he very likely had not previously accounted for. The Hits Just Keep On Coming Instead of setting himself up for a massive payoff in new investment opportunities once he exits the political stage, Trump seems to be looking forward to a future of severe backlash and financial drought. As a relatively minor example, Trump has been fired as the host of NBC’s reality TV series, The Apprentice.
More serious is the fact that Middle Eastern investors, including many that Trump has done business with for many years, have began to back away from him following his remarks concerning Muslims. Trump lost his “honorary ambassador” status to Scotland, as well as a number of lucrative opportunities concerning the opening of several multi-million dollar golf courses. A petition to ban Trump from visiting the United Kingdom has received serious consideration. All of these developments seem to indicate that Trump’s famous brand – upon which he hangs his reputation and his $3 billion dollar fortune – is beginning to show some severe wear and tear.
Is There A Gilded Future For The Donald? If Donald Trump originally thought that he could give his brand the maximum boost by running for President, then dropping out just before things got serious, he must be having some serious second thoughts at the moment. While Trump’s vast holdings are more than an adequate safety net to guarantee his future, the damage he has done to his reputation may well prove to be the headache that lasts far beyond the final curtain call.