2. Politics IS a job. Statesmanship is a calling, and leadership is more of a rarity. But the appelation "politician" need not have a negative connotation. In any case, I don't think Trump qualifies for any of those on the world stage.
That is simply because you disagree with his ideas and you dislike him personally. That does not mean he cannot perform these functions on a world stage, especially considering how many jokes of human beings are in leadership positions. Is Trump not as serious a person as Angela Merkel, whose policies just led to the rape of at least 18 more women by Middle Eastern migrants at a concert in Germany over the weekend? Is Trump not as serious as that bumbling goofball John Kerry, who goes from country to country meddling in people's affairs as Secretary of State?
Trump is right about NATO and he is closer to the truth about the Islamic threat than most other leaders. He also has stated repeatedly his opposition to the interventions in Iraq and Libya. The fact that many prominent leaders cannot stand him is a badge of honor, not something to be ashamed of.
Bernie Sanders knows nothing about foreign policy, as Hillary herself has said (and I agree with her). Does that mean Bernie doesn't "qualify" to lead on the world stage?
3. It is impossible to read the paper and not know a lot about Trump's business career, in the last 9 months. There is much in there that doesn't recommend him, either as a businessman, a dealmaker or a person of any integrity.
The vast majority of what you are referring to is one-sided hatchet job material. If Trump is such a terrible person, then what does it say about leading Democrats like Hillary and Harry Reid that they have fraternized with him and taken his money for years? Sure, he has done some shady things but I have no idea why that is such an important consideration when no prominent American leader has demonstrated much integrity for decades. Obama's national security adviser (Ben Rhodes) recently told the New York Times Magazine that the Obama administration was able to lie out of its teeth to the press about the Iran deal because the media consists of young Democrats who will believe anything they are told by Democratic leaders. In other words, he was saying that journalists in America are a bunch of Moxies looking to carry Obama's water and jump as high as they can whenever he tells them to. And let's not even get into the Clintons. Bill's treatment of women in many cases was as wretched as it gets.
4. I would cite Trump's "diplomatic" rhetoric with regards to women, immigrants, Muslims, Jewish people. etc. He prides himself on not being "politically correct." And he certainly isn't.
Donald Trump has not made one demeaning comment toward Latinos qua Latinos. Not one. Advocating legal immigration is not a racist position nor is it insulting toward immigrants per se. I am the son of an immigrant and I am not at all offended by the notion that it is a process that should be legally managed. His comments about illegal immigration have been offensive to leftist whites such as yourself, leftist Jews, neocon Republicans, blacks, and Latinos. Why? Well, in the case of leftist whites, they get moral fulfillment from promoting massive demographic change. In the case of leftist Jews and their neocon pals, they see white Christian culture as inherently Nazi-like and they want to dilute it. In the case of blacks, they have been trained by the civil rights industry and the education system to believe that white racism is the world's greatest evil and they must constantly be on the lookout for new manifestations of it. And, in the case of Latinos, they believe (and have been encouraged to believe by the American media) that the white man stole their land and that they deserve to have it back. Notice that none of these positions has any logical relevance for showing that legal immigration is a racist concept.
Muslims have done far more damage with their actions in Europe and North America in the last 15 years than Donald Trump has with any of his words. Muslims are responsible for major terrorist atrocities as well as coddling, justifying, shielding, and protecting jihadists within their communities. Not to mention the massive number of sexual assaults that have occurred in Europe because of misbehavior by Muslims. Furthermore, Muslims constitute a tiny minority of the American population and their culture and religion have been utterly irrelevant to the development of the United States. Being friendly toward Muslims in America has nothing to do with diplomacy in foreign relations.
You can't have it both ways. A lot of his supporters keep saying "he doesn't really mean that," or, "he won't really do that," or, "he'll change his position on that come the general election." I don't think people should be voting for the man to change his stripes. Diplomatic he is not.
Actually, Moxie, if you weren't so tendentious and you had any capacity for even-handedness when it comes to Trump, you would have noticed that Trump repeatedly criticized his Republican opponents, most notably Cruz, for being too intransigent on Capitol Hill and not being effective deal-makers. Cruz went after him on this score by saying that Trump was too flexible.
The point with Trump is that he can sit down and negotiate with people. I don't think he has the most solid convictions, but when it comes to sitting across a table from someone and working with them to get something accomplished, I think he is a quite capable individual.
