Okay, so Trump's running for the G.O.P. nomination, at least for now. I'm waiting for someone to ask him, "Are you in the race for keeps or are you in it until it's time to report for work on Celebrity Apprentice?" If I were a supporter of Mr. Trump — I suppose there are such people — I wouldn't lift a finger to help him or even begin hoping he'll win until I got the right answer to that question.
Worried about him maybe winning? Don't be. As Harry Enten notes, "Trump is the first candidate in modern presidential primary history to begin the campaign with a majority of his own party disliking him. A whopping 57 percent of Republicans have an unfavorable view of Trump, according to an average of the three most recent polls." And I have a feeling that as Republicans see him sucking up air time and attention and donations that could go to their first choice, the more that number will grow.
Trump, by the way, is the only person in the race I've ever been in the same room with. (I did see Hillary get out of a limo in New York once.) I was up at David Letterman's studio back in his NBC days when Trump was on. I saw him in the halls, yelling at people and being quite obnoxious, and then I was about twelve feet away when he was sitting in Dave's guest chair saying things that caused the audience to boo him. Do you remember that Monty Python sketch about eating dead relatives that ended with the studio audience rising from its seats and rushing up to strangle the actors? That came close to happening.
On another occasion, Trump and the current Mrs. Trump barged into a recording studio where I was working on some TV thing. They were in the wrong room and not at all apologetic for interrupting us.
These tiny brushes do not equate to me having any more insight into Trump than anyone else can get from watching him on television. But I sure didn't see anything to counteract the arrogant and nasty image he's carefully cultivated.