United States: Goodbye Donald Trump?

Real estate mogul, reality TV star: This eccentric billionaire has been the presidential campaign’s main opening attraction. Yet the winds seem to be shifting already for Mr. Trump.

In the United States, words may not hurt (“sticks and stones”), but they attract the masses. Billionaire Donald Trump has shattered the start of the presidential campaign: His meetings attract more people than all of the other declared candidates combined, Hillary Clinton included, which speaks volumes about the decay of local politics.

We laugh at his incredible coif, his look of an aging crooner, his braggadocio, his private jet and the innumerous products bearing his name. But the 69-year-old Trump has the last laugh. In several weeks he has become one of the favorites for the 2016 Republican primaries in the presidential election. For now, he best incarnates the anti-establishment vote. It’s a [new] high point for the real estate and TV mogul (he co-holds the rights to the Miss America and Miss Universe pageants) who estimates his fortune at $10 billion (more than 9 million euros), and in 2011 declared, rather amusingly, “part of the beauty of me is that I’m very rich.”

It’s the top and, also, an achievement. In reality, Trump doesn’t have a campaign team worthy of his name, no headquarters, no lead in key states like Iowa or New Hampshire and even less of a strategy. He’s continuously improvising and he confessed that he is only sacrificing about 50 percent of his time to the campaign.

13 Percent Favor Trump

Yet it works! According to the latest polls in Iowa, where the first primaries will be held, he captured 13 percent of potential votes, just behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Ditto in New Hampshire, where he followed on the heels of Jeb Bush. His secret? Make a scene by firing away to the media about everything that comes into his head, including the foulest things.

“I like people that weren’t captured,” Trump said in regard to John McCain, a Vietnam War hero.

The first burst came on June 16, when he announced his candidacy. Regarding Mexican immigration, which is otherwise regressing, Trump struck out: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us.” What problems? “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” What a lovely statement!

Xenophobia

This xenophobic wisecrack recalls the old controversy over Obama’s nationality (that the president was not born in the United States, that his birth certificate was fake) that Trump had smugly reported in 2009. The worst is that it’s also electorally irresponsible — how could one so assuredly alienate the crucial Latino vote? It has also led to a quiet outcry among his fellow Republicans.

One of the primary favorites, Jeb Bush, whose wife is Mexican, felt “personally offended.” Gov. Chris Christie, another primary candidate, criticized Trump’s words but reaffirmed his high regard for the Donald. “He’s a really great person,” he remarked. The fallout came from TV station NBC, now refusing to broadcast the Miss Universe and Miss America pageants (which found refuge on a lesser-known cable station) and put an end to Trump’s participation in “The Celebrity Apprentice,” the reality show which follows his search to recruit an assistant. “You’re fired!” he yells at each unworthy candidate. The phrase has since become iconic.

Provocations

The Republicans have already disapproved of his wild attacks on Sen. McCain, the former 2008 Republican presidential candidate. Ex-military, McCain’s military record is irreproachable. During the Vietnam War his plane was shot down by the North Vietnamese; he was taken prisoner for several years and tortured. This didn’t stop the ineffable Trump from making a jab: “He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” The most incredible thing here is that he did everything possible to avoid being sent to Vietnam, pretexting a bone anomaly in his foot. Which foot? He no longer remembers.

Perhaps Donald Trump goes too far. According to numerous commentators, this could mark the beginning of an ebb in his popularity. If this is indeed the case, one must draw the resulting conclusion: Even in the United States, sticks and stones may break one’s bones, and words will hurt, too.