So apparently Donald Trump is thinking for running for President in 2012, as a Republican. As Jon Stewart was helpful enough to point out, Trump announced his interest in the Republican nomination at CPAC by saying, "If I run, and if I win, this country will be respected again."
Really? I mean, I know Trump was a real estate mogul long before he had a seven-year run as a reality TV star and an even longer career as a hairstyling punchline. Is that what we mean by a relationship between media and politics? If Reagan and Shwarzenneger could move from show business to politics, why not Trump?
Apparently, it's not his first time running. New York magazine points out that not only did Trump run as a third-party Independent candidate in 2000, but his stance on many social issues, from abortion to health care reform, has changed drastically since then.
Is this a publicity stunt? Does Trump have a reasonable shot at the Republican nomination? Should his business experience be looked at as an asset, or should his contributions to American media's least thoughtful enterprise, reality TV, work against him?
I can't imagine he's really serious about this. It feels too much like a publicity stunt.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is, while this is fun to talk about, it doesn't really shock people anymore. I think the key issue is, people have lumped public officials into the general category of "celebrity" and therefore when an individual decides to make the switch from Hollywood to politics, it's more accepted now, even natural.
ReplyDeleteThis is also why the fashion sense of those such as Michelle Obama is so closely followed: she is not just Mrs. President, but a celebrity in her own right.