I have often heard Donald Trump characterized as stupid, a grown man with the mental capacity of a child. An idiot, a fool, a -- to use one of his favorite epithets -- “dummy.” And when you listen to his rambling, nigh-incomprehensible speeches, speeches in which he seems to babble on and on and never quite gets around to the point -- unless that point is how he’s the “best” or “greatest” at something (seriously, he claimed to “know ISIS better than the generals do”) – it’s easy to assume that he's a few beers short of a six-pack.

But despite the opinions of some pundits and politicos, Trump is no fool. Arrogant? Sure, but it’s a rare politician that isn’t a bit full of themselves. A bit of a blowhard? Oh yeah. Racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic? Well, I can’t speak to his personal beliefs, but he sure does like to play those cards.

And therein lies the crux of the thing. Trump doesn’t seem to hold any consistent views. Over the course of his adult life, he has contributed thousands of dollars to politicians of every stripe -- including his presumptive opponent in the general election back when Clinton was running for Senate. There’s nothing new about a politician modifying their policy positions in order to win more votes, but Trump has swung back and forth on the issues wildly -- sometimes drastically changing his position and then changing back within a few days. Combined with his bombastic and opaque rhetoric, this has had the effect of creating a candidate that is difficult to attack on his views -- how can you debate ideology with a man who seems to lack even the most basic convictions -- and is easy for a potential supporter to project their beliefs onto.

Trump is well aware of and nurtures this cult of personality. He knows that his supporters, drawn in by his “tell it like it is” no-holds-barred attitude, will vehemently defend him against any and all comers. When those defenses turn ugly -- whether it’s harassment, threats, or actual physical violence -- Trump has the luxury of hiding behind a veil of ignorance. Certainly he can’t be faulted if his supporters let their passions get out of hand, he of course doesn’t encourage the violence.

And on those occasions that someone manages to weather the gauntlet of supporters to call out Trump on one of his many hypocrisies, the businessman quickly responds by creating a tangential issue to distract attention away from main one. Look at what is currently happening with U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel. Curiel, an Indiana native, is involved with a lawsuit being brought against Trump for his Trump University -- which many former students have claimed was an out-and-out scam. Rather than defend his “University,” Trump has instead demanded that the judge recuse himself due to his Mexican heritage -- which Trump claims makes the judge inherently biased due to his immigration plans.

While this is obviously absurd and an affront to the very foundational principles of racial equality and judicial fairness, Trump’s comments serve to distract the public from looking deeper into the case’s facts -- which may contain details about Trump University’s nature that the businessman would prefer not come to light. As far as blowback from the racial nature of his remarks, Trump has made plenty of such comments throughout his campaign and they haven’t seemed to hurt him much yet -- in fact, the resulting media attention has only served to further his popularity and ability to control the main issues of the campaign.

Trump is a master at manipulating the media and his supporters. He has succeeded in clinching the Republican nomination despite lacking any coherent policy positions because he is extremely adept at cultivating and inflaming the passions of the American public. It’s hard to say if his utter lack of scruples will ever catch up to him, because, like any good conman, Trump is always ready with another trick up his sleeve.