By Hal Brown
At a rally Saturday Pennsylvania rally Trump had polling numbers on a big screen and said:
"There it is, Trump at 71%, Ron DeSantimonious at 10%, Mike Pence at 7% -- oh, Mike's doing better than I thought," Trump said.
I assume Mike Pence doesn't even warrant a nickname... when he does we'll know Trump feels threatened by him.
This set off some criticism from conservatives, for example from Matt Walsh (profile):
I wonder if Trump made this up himself or someone made it up for him.
In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he couldn't even define the word. He used to say his favorite books were the Bible and The Art of the Deal.
It's a common question every presidential candidate is asked: What are your favorite books? It's more than just a curiosity about a candidate's personality; the answers tend to shed light on a would-be president's interests and intellect.With this in mind, I was fascinated to see Donald Trump's answer to this question yesterday.Donald Trump has high praise for the author behind his two favorite books: himself.When asked this week what his two favorite books are by A.J. Calloway of "Extra," the GOP presidential nominee replied, " 'The Art of the Deal,' 'Surviving at the Top.'"
It's one of the most Trump-like answers Trump has delivered all year. Asked to name his favorite book, the Republican candidate used to say the Bible. Now, he's dropped the pretense: Trump's favorite books are the ones that have his face and name on the cover. Because for Donald J. Trump, everything is always about Donald J. Trump.In the same interview, he added, "I love books. I love reading when I get a chance to."Whether or not one believes this is a matter of perspective. I, for example, find it difficult to see Trump as a voracious reader. Several months ago, asked to name the last book he read, the Republican candidate said, "I read passages, I read areas, chapters, I don't have the time."But even for those inclined to accept Trump's claims at face value should pause to appreciate the narcissism that goes into a perspective like this. MSNBC
The dictionary wasn't on the list. Well, duh, I wonder if he ever owned one, even before the Internet when students all had a copy he probably paid other students to do his work for him.
To be fair, saying the dictionary is one of your favorite books when asked doesn't come to the mind of many well-read people because they consider it a given.
Even if he could define sanctimonious, I don't want to be snobbish but I have my doubts many or most of his MAGA crowd would know it was an insult but couldn't define it.
Oddly, Trump himself isn't sanctimonious in the sense that he believes he is morally superior to other people. Morality doesn't matter to him. Could he even define it? Ask yourself....
- The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct.
- A system or collection of ideas of right and wrong conduct.
- Virtuous conduct.
They are pesky impediments to getting what he wants. I think he considers morality a "woke" Democratic Party concept. He simply believes he is superior to everyone in all the ways that count.
I think Ron the Con might have had more of a ring to it and people would understand what it meant, though when it comes being a con-artist Trump has no peer. His MAGA cult likes the fact that Trump is a con, they see it as a good thing because they don't grasp that it is them that he has conned.
