The Rude Pundit is under no illusions that legions of Donald Trump voters await this blog's new postings every day to see what insults are hurled at their candidate ("a flaming bag of shit in human form" is one that came to him yesterday). Still, now we're seeing a flood of terrible news about Trump flowing through the dam the press had seemed to construct to protect him. Over at Huffington Post (motto: "All the news we can fit and then we fit some sideboob"), Jonathan Cohn has asked why media coverage hasn't condemned Trump's campaign to the ash heap. But it's made the Rude Pundit wonder what, if anything, could change Trump's voters' minds about the ostensible Republican nominee for president.
So he's got a question or two for you Trumpistas, asked respectfully, asked with prejudice against your candidate, but with an open mind about what you might say.
For instance, do the revelations about the sales practices of Trump University have any effect on your thinking? How much do you need beyond the sworn testimony of salespeople and the marketing guide that said that the elderly and single parents should be targeted because they are vulnerable to a get-rich-quick pitch?
Trump's campaign released a video that supposedly showed satisfied Trump U. customers, although the conservative blog RedState (which the Rude Pundit has mocked many times, yes, but "enemy of my enemy," you know) quickly debunked the whole thing. If Trump can prove that people made money in real estate as a result of their taking Trump U. "courses," then wouldn't there be a paper trail and not just people talking about it? Wouldn't we be able to see transactions, mortgages, bank statements, friggin' cancelled checks? In fact, why does Trump never give us documents that prove anything he claims?
More importantly, to Trump voters, does it even matter?
When it comes to the veteran's fundraiser, do you believe Trump when he says he didn't want any credit for it? He bragged about it constantly on the campaign trail. And why do you think Trump himself took so long to write the $1 million check to donate to an event that took place in January?
What if you found out that Trump isn't worth billions of dollars? Would that affect your point of view?
More importantly, again, does any of it matter?
Some of you will say (as one person did on Twitter) that whatever Trump might have done with Trump University doesn't compare to whatever Hillary Clinton did in keeping a private email server (although you can bet that it didn't involve scamming elderly people out of tens of thousands of dollars). But, for shits and giggles, let's say they're both guilty. The cases aren't mutually exclusive. They can both be guilty; Clinton is guilty of...something with email and classified stuff or something. In Trump's case, it would be for fraud. Does that make a dent in the shining armor?
Let's use a sales technique here. What would it take to close the deal? What would it take for you to finally turn your back on Trump and walk away?
How about this: How would you feel if Hillary Clinton was responsible for a scam that took millions of dollars from people who couldn't afford it? How would you feel if Hillary Clinton didn't release her taxes? How would you feel if...
Or maybe you just don't care what Trump does. In which case, you're a lost cause. Go fuck yourself, respectfully, and good luck in the terrible world you're creating.
(By the way, the links up there, except for the first one, are all to right-wing websites and publications. So shove any "liberal media" bullshit you wanna say.)
