We have breaking news: Donald Trump has said something that makes sense.
Believe it or not, he has actually said a lot of things that make sense. From his views on health care to Kentucky county clerks, he has many reasonable and well put together ideas. It's the other half of him that is so bat-guano crazy.
I, along with many following the presidential election recognize that Donald Trump is both a sideshow put on by big media and possibly a very great threat to the Republican Party. However, that cannot dismiss any of the things he has said in the past. Between supporting health care as a right to having been a campaign donor to numerous democrats in the past, Donald Trump is a candidate that needs to be seen clearly.
To truly understand where Donald Trump intends to take this presidential run, it's important to see where he's taken his business in the past. Donald Trump became rich, one part thanks to inheritance from his father, and in the other by being a shrewd business mogul. He exploited the system and made out like a bandit with his own fortune. He brags consistently about exploiting loopholes for his own personal gain and his own intelligence for being able to find them. It's no wonder then that Donald Trump is looking to take his business to the national level.
It's no surprise that someone like Trump, who constantly praises himself, will speak his mind. That being said, his mindset is derived from the perspective of a white Christian male who grew up wealthy and then became wealthier himself. His place of privilege is something that speaks very clearly to his supporter base, and whether they like to admit it or not, this is a huge part of the base of the Republican Party.
Donald Trump does speak his mind, and it is unfortunate that his mind is coming from such a place of misguided privilege. It's even more unfortunate that so many Republicans (30%, at the last tally) also come from that same mindset.
Donald Trump is running to increase his own personal fame and, through that, his fortune. He is a shrewd businessman who will take advantage of any situation he's given to turn himself a profit. His voter base, a third of the Republican Party, has decided that his policy positions don't actually matter. Of course, that one particular problem may be indicative of an even larger issue.
The bottom line is that Trump is popular. Very popular. He says some things that make sense, and others that show how privileged and misinformed he and his supporters are. Those dismissing him as never having a chance of winning are sure to be surprised come July 2016. Take him seriously or not, but the man is a force.
