I hadn't planned on posting again today, but this simply has to be seen to be believed. The GOP has had a lot of so-called "experts," both inside and outside the party, who have lectured them on their need to appeal to minorities in order to stave off demographic extinction in the wake of Mitt Romney's defeat. Some have been taken seriously, some are complete and utter jokes (Jonah Goldberg's completely inane column on black outreach the other day a prime example of the latter). And yet, the identity of the latest public figure to harp on the GOP's poor treatment of minorities will likely make your jaw drop. Yes, it's the one, the only...Donald Trump.
Yes, you heard right. And no, this is not snark. I would not dare to be that audacious. In an interview for Newsmax appearing today entitled "Donald Trump: Mean-Spirited GOP Won't Win Elections," Trump said the GOP would continue to lose presidential elections if they come across as "mean-spirited" and "unwelcoming" toward minorities. As Trump says:
Whether intended or not, comments and policies of Mitt Romney and other Republican candidates during this election were seen by Hispanics and Asians as hostile to them, Trump says.
"Republicans didn't have anything going for them with respect to Latinos and with respect to Asians," the billionaire developer says.
"The Democrats didn't have a policy for dealing with illegal immigrants, but what they did have going for them is they weren't mean-spirited about it," Turmp says. "They didn't know what the policy was, but what they were is they were kind."
Trump also criticized Romney's infamous "self-deportation" stance and urged the GOP to develop a "comprehensive" immigration policy.
Now, normally this would come off as a relatively reasonable statement of the GOP's current problems with minorities, especially the nasty attitudes. (I've said on numerous occasions that it doesn't matter what your policies are, people won't vote for you if you treat them like shit.) But you need to look at the messenger here and the messenger is Donald Trump.
Donald Trump.
DONALD. FUCKING. TRUMP.
This man would have the gall to lecture anyone on the art of race relations? The King of the Birthers himself? The man who has dog-whistled racist conspiracies about Obama for years, culminating is his pathetic "gimme your college transcripts for 5 MILLION DOLLARS!" offer before the election? The man whose response to Obama's reelection was a racist, unhinged meltdown for the ages?
And this man has the gall to lecture anybody on the subject of race?
I swear, either Donald Trump is the most self-unaware man on the planet or the biggest egomaniac alive. Or maybe he's just stupid. (Or a little bit of all three.) I'm starting to agree with Bill Maher; it may be time to get this man some serious help.