by P. David Gardner
Some people just have the knack.
Take for instance my cousin Louie. He has a knack for making subway riders nervous when he slips his hand into his jacket pocket. Maybe it's down to the fact that he looks like a mobster, even though he earns his living as a florist.
Or there's my best friend Hal, who is a natural at making simply terrible art out of raw materials he collects from all around town. He tries, oh he tries, but true art eludes him. It's like trying to nail jelly to a wall, slipping out of his meaty grasp with great speed.
But the Trumpster ... oh, he's a good 'un. This old blowhard has the uncanny ability to offend pretty much everyone he meets, without even trying.
Two weeks ago, our toupeed Man in Black announced loudly that he was gonna run for the Highest Office in All of The Land. The whacky pontifications of the master (in his own mind, at least) was attended in studio by a bunch of hired guns, mostly out-of-work actors and anyone coming in off the street for free coffee and maybe a donut or two, all hired to hoist "Trump for President" signs on high for the cameras, and applaud and shout approvingly at pretty much every dirty pearl that fell from the Trumpster's mouth in that too-long speech.
And in that time, Trump managed to piss off a fairly large segment of voters: Mexican-Americans.
You see, Trump wants the Mexicans (the ones south of the border, that is) to pay for and build a giant wall to keep out those undesirables that want to come to work in the United States.
Starting off with a rousing declaration that America is going to hell in a handbasket, Trump said, "When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically."
He then upped the stakes and went on to declare, "The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems." (Rousing hired hand shouts here.) "Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with (to?) us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
Oh, thank you, Mr. Trump, for acknowledging that Mexicans, albeit apparently very few, can be good people.
More was said, but you get the picture, I'm sure.
It didn't take long for the repercussions to rain down like radiation from a nuclear blast.
A co-host on Trump's show "Miss USA" promptly resigned. "I was very excited and proud to have been invited to participate in Miss USA,” said Roselyn Sanchez. "But as a Latina, that is now inconceivable. Although I am not Mexican, I am Puerto Rican and a proud Latina, and his comments were an insult to our culture. I won't sponsor anything produced by Donald Trump."
NBC and Univision have jumped ship as well, canceling the upcoming broadcast of the pageant, citing Trump's nasty and prejudicial remarks too.
Trump's response? "What NBC and Univision has done to these young women was disgraceful."
And now today, Macy's, the giant department store, has decided to dump Trump's merchandise from its store shelves, urged on by a successful petition over at MoveOn.org, which stated in part that "Donald Trump does not reflect 'the magic of Macy's. Macy's says it has a strong obligation to be 'socially responsible' and that 'actions speak louder than words.' Indeed. It's time to act."
Oh my, it appears that the Trumpster has offended some people, and it's simply raining disaster now.
Trump apparently doesn't realize it, but a lot of Mexican-Americans vote. And a lot of retailers and businesses employ Mexican-Americans and have them even in executive positions. Imagine that!
This is not over yet. Trump has yawned open his mighty maw, and now the chips will fall where they may.
It's a safe bet to say that more fallout will follow, and more businesses and organizations will follow suit. And that will sink Trump's bid for the Presidency faster than the Titanic.
