I hate to even write this for the sake of blowing his cover, but, Donald Trump is not the total idiot we think he is. He is playing a double game, acting the birther fool and sidling up to Romney just for the sake of keeping wingnut extremism--and yes, his own image--in the news. The more successful he is at making Republicans froth and squirm, the better for Obama.
What's not to like? He just completely trashed the fact that Mitt Romney sealed the Repubican nomination and, if Romney's behavior is any measure, Trump's not going away as a visible "Republican" any time soon. He can ride it all the way to November as far as I'm concerned. The more he's in the news spouting the views of the Republican party, the better it gets for Democrats. And he knows it.
Trump is a businessman. And as we point out on this site all the time -- and the record shows -- Democrats are better for business top to bottom than Republicans are. How else is the Donald going to avoid providing health care for the hundreds of low-wage workers cleaning his toilets and scrubbing his floors? How are those people going to earn a living wage in New York City without the Earned Income Tax Credit, rent-stabilization, heating oil cost abatement, all the things that Democratic governments provide? Trump knows that an increase in his federal income tax rate is a bargain compared to what would happen to his empire if his employees in New York and Atlantic City and Chicago and Las Vegas can't afford to live in those regions anymore.
Cynical? sure. But better him than Obama, or any other Democratic representative. Like Bachmann or Palin or Arpaio or Allen West, Trump is one of the best messengers the Democratic party could hope for. And he knows it.
8:11 PM PT: 11:10pm Jon Stewart just made a similar argument for the first 10 minutes of his show.