re: #239 lizardofid

Excuse me fellow Lizards, I know I seldom contribute, but I have couple of questions I would appreciate your thoughts on.

I’m hearing Trump threaten a 3rd party run if he’s not “treated fairly” by the party. Firm in the knowledge that would assure a sound drubbing for the GOP, this would give him a lot of leverage.

What might he ask for?

If it becomes clear to him he can’t get the nomination, would he be capable of putting his ego aside to take a #2 spot on the ticket?

I don’t know, but I get the creepy feeling this giant a-hole has cards he ain’t showing.

Am I delusional?

Thanks!

Hm.

The Trump campaign is already monetized, in the sense that Trump’s income flow operates via the same methodology as Paris Hilton. Attention translates into appearances and eyes on his shows, so therefore cash. This time, his “campaign” is being filmed for a reality TV thing, as opposed to last time, when his “campaign” was an attempt to bolster that stupid show he does. “The Apprentice.”

(…all of which is in keeping with his business model from the get-go. His business acumen is a facade—he’s a good old-fashioned conman bilking his investors—but the money he makes by selling that image is real….)

Rather like with his other ventures, I’m curious about the secondary incomes streams generated from selling his image. Books, appearances fees, speaking fees, et cetera. And atop that, there’s the question of whether his “campaign” is taking in money, and how it’s circulating.

Whether or not there’s an extortionate component in his current presidential run…I think it’s posturing when he pokes the other candidates.

I realize I’ve been using the word “mountebank” a lot to describe the current state of politics, but I think it’s especially appropriate with regard to Trump. His MO both as a businessman and a pundit is to bluff about his competency, then fleece anyone that believes him. I have a hard time seeing the political phase of his bluster as differentiable from past iterations: a con-job.

On the other hand, though…bullshit long enough and you begin to imagine you’re a bull.