From my post in 2011 titled, Unethical U.S. Presidential Candidacies: Is Trump’s the All-Time Worst?, which suddenly became green again in the wake of the horrifying news that The Donald is running for Presient again, for real, this time, or as close to real as Trump ever gets. I wrote:
“Donald Trump is perfectly happy to make a mockery of the presidential nomination and election processes while distorting them too. If he manages to convince enough fools to vote for him, hell, sure…he’d have a blast running for President. If his run peters out, it’s still worth lots of publicity, and increases the value of the Trump “brand.” Even the most unethical of the previous candidacies were based on a sincere, if misguided belief that the country’s welfare would be served by it. Does Trump have that belief? I wonder. No, his can’t be called the most unethical candidacy. But it is reckless, and it is intentionally appealing to the worst in 21st Century American character: fear, celebrity worship, ignorance, and materialism. Meanwhile, every second of attention his candidacy distracts from serious consideration of our nation’s leadership reduces the chances of the public doing its hardest and most important job carefully and competently.”
More heartfelt and truer words have never been composed in my brain.
You can read some selected examples of Trump’s miserable character here, and I have only scratched the surface. Every other candidate for President, including Hillary Clinton, was just elevated in stature by Trump’s announcement.
Anyone, indeed anything, looks good compared to him.
Ethics Alarms 
Does it make a difference that there are already so many candidates in the field that he stands no chance?
No. His very running is simply too damaging.
Its good news for Jack — there is only so much Obama and Clinton bashing one can do without appearing to be a right wing blog, even if the appearance is not reality. Trump should help even things up.
Did you think anything similar about Ross Perot? Nelson Rockefeller?
Ross Perot lived a nominal life of political involvement. Rockefeller was simply a tycoon, not a loon.
I actually remember a time when Trump was simpley an eccentric businessmen who built big buildings with his father’s money and sold them to make his own money (putting his name on a few along the way… perhaps the only resemblance to Rockefeller).
Somehow, Trump’s really poor choice in toupée caught the public’s attention, and he has whored that attention ever sense. No cause too asinine, no cause too sacred to escape being stumped by the Trump.
There is one area, and one area alone, I do believe President Trump would excel at (if only relatively); uttering the words:
You’re Fired.
I thought of Perot as patriotic, generally honest and direct about his views, but only semi-serious about being elected President. I will say again what I said back then: No way could a guy like him be serious without bringing along with himself, and vigorously promoting, a full slate of candidates for every available seat in the House and Senate whom he trusts to stand with him on every, or almost every, policy initiative. When Perot chose his running mate – a decent man, but a man clearly unfit to succeed him – all I could say was, “Anyone voting for that ticket is a damned fool.”
I simply did not trust Rockefeller. Besides being a tycoon (translation: out of touch with the middle class, no matter how hard he tried to be otherwise), he was more big-government-liberal than Nixon and Johnson combined. At times, he did seem even a little loony. I was impressed with his taste for jazz music. But I was more impressed with outsiders like Jimmy Carter. So yes, I was my own kind of damned fool back then, too.
Hillary must be so pleased to know there is a more worthless candidate in the race.
I think there’s not a hairsbreadth of difference between them, myself.
That’s the popular “clown car” position, and it is demonstrably unfair. Just one aspect takes it waaay beyond a hair. The other candidates are running because they have the best interests of the nation at heart, and trying to upgrade the race. Trump is only interested in self-promotion, and is happy to degrade the race. He is scum.
I don’t think it is ethical to channel Harold Stassen.
I think someone should write an opera about Harold. As The Boy Wonder, he missed his one legitimate shot, and couldn’t move on. He was a political Miss Havisham.
Wow. A “Great Expectations” reference. You don’t see that on your average blog.
That shows class!!