the novelty candidate

I keep seeing brilliant bits on the boy who would be king and want to compile them here.  I expected Trump to be gone by end of October and planned this post as a farewell to his campaign.  But of course he has enough money to go the distance. So consider these a reminder that this is a real election in a real country and the world is watching.  No pressure. 

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​The first is from Saturday Night Live -- Pete Davidson on Weekend Update.  

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Next is Trevor Noah, the new host of the Daily Show.  He's from South Africa and has a unique perspective on the candidate.  

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Donald Miller offers story structure as an explanation of why Trump is sticking around.  It's 17 minutes but worth it, an in-depth and meaningful look at Trump's messaging.  

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No matter how strong the narrative is from Trump the candidate, all his opponents have to do is start telling stories of Trump the man.   Here are a few of those stories, in a documentary from 1991.  It was never released because Trump threatened to sue.  And according to the film's writer, it wasn't the accusations of near-criminal or negligent business practices that upset Trump, but that his income was reported as being much lower than what he had announced publicly.  The same is true today.  At the beginning of the campaign, he claimed to be worth 8 billion.  Forbes says it's half that.  And now Trump says an upcoming story will report his income over 11 billion.  Most of us don't think in billions so the numbers are ultimately meaningless.  Normal voters are more likely to be unnerved by the fact that Trump is more concerned about clarifying numbers than he is about answering for how he has treated human beings.  Here he is, in all his glory.    [UPDATE 2-29-2016]  The film can no longer be embedded here.  You have to rent or buy it.  Bummer.

Yes, it's still frightfully early in the campaign and maybe we can root for Sanjaya a few more weeks. But not much more.  Iowa is in February and eventually, The Hair has to go.

[UPDATE 12-5-2015]  I am amazed at the Republican candidates saying they'll back the nominee even if it's Trump, that Trump is still better than Hillary. Here's one voice of reason who knows socialism > fascism.  Top Jeb Bush political donor in Miami: I’ll vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump  

Clarification:  Not a Hillary endorsement.  Or a Hillary slam (she's not as open about socialism as Bernie).  Just respect for a guy who can see the big picture.                 

[UPDATE 12-7-2015] Finally, a tipping point. The Republicans turned on Trump publicly today.  Too late, of course, but  maybe the polls will finally shift.  This stunning montage was compiled before the most recent shame: ​

UPDATE 12-10-2015  It's starting to hit his wallet.  People backing away from the brand.

And here's an article from September:  Have Evangelicals Who Support Trump Lost Their Values?

UPDATE 12-11-2015  Anonymous shut down the Trump Tower site today.  And so many other responses worldwide, including from his church which made a statement that he does not speak for them, and they will continue to help settle refugees.

I started this post to show how silly the whole Trump idea is.  It seemed so obvious he could never win from his opening remarks about people from Mexico.  But now he's putting people in danger.  

​Maybe it's time for a different kind of post.  I know there's ultimately nothing to fear from Trump.  God is bigger than the boogeyman, even if the boogeyman is a ranting politician.  And no politician can win without God's consent.  

But I'm feeling...something...and need to figure it out.

to be continued...         

more from this series: Beyond Our Tribes