Althouse: Trump as governor of NY?

December 31, 2005

Trump as governor of NY?

Oh, the horror! Ridiculous, really. You can't be that weird and run for office. (Can you?)

29 comments:

Laura Reynolds said...: I'm sure he has no tolerance for politics as usual, so it could be quite enertaining or quite ugly, perhaps both. I'd like to see him run for senator, maybe he could get Hillary to answer a question.; 12/31/05, 10:32 AM
knox said...: He seems to have a good dose of megalomania, so I guess it was just a matter of time...; 12/31/05, 10:37 AM
D.E. Cloutier said...: Trump would make an outstanding governor.

You don't want to pay your New York state taxes? Fine. Let's play a hand of blackjack for them--double or nothing.; 12/31/05, 10:49 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Two problems in addition to weirdness:

1. All that financial disclosure.

2. Can he really mingle with the people and campaign... I mean without showing contempt?

As for the hair, I think it's a useful device for getting critics to talk about something that's just lightweight and funny, instead of any serious criticism. It's a decoy.; 12/31/05, 11:14 AM
Unknown said...: You can't be that weird and run for office. (Can you?)

In New York? Two words: Tom Golisano; 12/31/05, 11:49 AM
Unknown said...: Ann, as per your number 2: The Donald is a schmoozer of Olympian proportions; he regularly regales Staten Island reporters with tales of how he used to love coming here to help his daddy Fred run a couple of garden apartment complexes daddy had out here, in the days before "The" was planted in front of "Donald."

He'd totally smoke Spitzer in that respect.; 12/31/05, 11:55 AM
Palladian said...: Don't forget that The Donald thinks "the handshake is barbaric... Shaking hands, you catch the flu, you catch this, you catch all sorts of things."

I'm with him on that one, but politicans who don't shake hands? Well, according to the article where I pulled the quote, Teddy Roosevelt got by even though he hated shaking hands. Maybe Trump could adopt the method for avoiding handshaking used by Glenn Gould.; 12/31/05, 12:11 PM
Ricardo said...: Twenty years from now, I'd like to see Rebecca Jarvis (the runner up to Randal, on the just completed The Apprentice season) run for governor of New York. Class, an ability to perform under pressure, and (as demonstrated in the season finale), an ability to go with the flow when incompetents are in the building.; 12/31/05, 12:35 PM
reader_iam said...: Regarding "that weird":

What about James Trafficant, the Ohio congressman who ended up in jail (bit of trivia: Gary Condit was the only U.S. Rep. who voted against his expulsion from the House)?

For a good laugh to end your year, scroll down and read some of the absolutely beyond-weird and wacky one-minute speeches he made during his time in office (on gun bras, the IRS as enema, and other oddities).

Don't think even Trump can hold a candle to that guy in the weirdo department.; 12/31/05, 12:36 PM
D.E. Cloutier said...: Ann Althouse: "...All that financial disclosure."

Some people are "bulletproof" in the case of issues in their past. Jesse Jackson is one example. At this point, celebrity businessman Donald Trump may be another.; 12/31/05, 1:16 PM
bearbee said...: For this performance before a Senate sub-committee regarding UN rebuilding/remodeling estimates, expenditures and incompetencies alone he would have my vote ....

Note: It is 21 minutes of The Donald non-stop but moves briskly

The Donald; 12/31/05, 1:28 PM
Pooh said...: too weird to be Gov? I give you Jesse Ventura...; 12/31/05, 1:30 PM
Sanjay said...: "Too weird for public office" is obviously the kind of thing one might type before stopping and reflecting! But Trump -- as far as I can read the guy -- is quite capable I think of exuding warmth and empathy for the common voter, _as long as he thinks they might be wise and insightful enough to elect him_. A second campaign, if he loses one --- that'll be ugly. But I think he can probably be common-touchy as all get out. Look at his charming commercials.; 12/31/05, 1:44 PM
Unknown said...: bearbee got it right. Trump schooled that committee about what a farce the UN's rebuilding plan was in relations to NYC devolpment reality. He sat there and matter of factly just tore the whole thing apart.; 12/31/05, 1:51 PM
sonicfrog said...: What are you talking about. Out here in Kalyfornia we had Gary Coleman and a stripper running for Governor during the recall. But I voted for the Vacuum!; 12/31/05, 4:34 PM
Mark Daniels said...: Trump and Trafficant could form an all-hair ticket for President and Vice President some year. (Although I think that Trafficant is now disqualified from service because of his felonies.)

But I just don't see Trump as a credible candidate for any office. It's one thing to be a billionaire or multi-millionaire who can finance one's own campaign. That's been done many times. But it's another matter completely to be a fat cat whose public repuation is a bit sketchy, who can't conceal his megalomania, whose personal life has been tabloid fodder for decades, and who has filed for bankruptcy. (How can one whose lifestyle is so overtly and dangerously profligate talk about fiscal responsibility?) One or two of these "attributes" might be overlooked by voters, I suppose. But their combination sets a person apart as lacking the seriousness needed for public office.

My guess is that Bruno has set this talk in motion for one or more of several reasons:

(1) To play up to Trump's ego, hoping through this harmless charade to secure the Donald's continued support of his own plans for running NY either himself or, more likely, through hand-picked surrogates;

(2) To send up a trial balloon as though he supports the notion but in the certainty that opinion polls will show the Donald can't win. That, in turn, will clear the decks for some more worthy GOP candidate.

The real question is who will the GOP put forward in NY for both the Senate against Hillary and for governor in place of Pataki?

I can't see Giuliani risking his presidential prospects for a race that he might lose either for the Senate or the governorship.

Cox seems likely to run against Hillary, but nobody knows what sort of campaign he might wage.

Bill Weld's candidacy for governor seems to be running into problems, although he won't be dismissed as a carpetbagger; carpetbaggery has a long and hallowed tradition in NY.

Mark Daniels; 12/31/05, 7:56 PM
Stiles said...: Trump has a stronger background than the typical celebrity candidate, but his candidacy is still problematic for the NY GOP.

As Mark Daniels noted well, Trump has a lot of history and it's unlikely his star appeal would overcome that over the course of a campaign.

Although there would be some appetite in NY for an outsider to take a business approach for government (see Mayor Bloomberg), Trump is a businessman who has declared bankruptcy for his casino company, saying "It doesn't matter - it's a modern-day thing, a legal mechanism." That will take some of the shine off his business appeal.

As noted by Brylin, NY GOP faces some tough sledding in 2006. Their grip upstate and on LI has been slipping for a while and a weak candidate at the top of the ticket could jeopardize their majority in the State Senate. Once lost, that control will be difficult to regain in NY. While Trump would bring some charisma to the top of the ticket (and $$$), you have to wonder where his pull will be greatest. If he does a Bloomberg and runs well in NYC, that doesn't help the GOP in the state senate. I think it is a very open question whether Trump can energize the base and win independents in the state senate districts crucial to the NY GOP. What are Trump's positions on the issues?

Trump likes to talk. Will he be disciplined enough to avoid shooting himself in the foot during the campaign?

Spitzer is a very strong gubernatorial candidate for the Democrats and will be extremely difficult to defeat. He will continue the recent pattern of Democrats running well upstate, should hold NYC, and do reasonably well on LI and the suburbs. This poses a real challenge for the NY GOP. Fielding a weak candidate against Sptizer jeopardizes their one foothold in Albany, but what strong professional politician would want to take on Spitzer this year? Thus, the fishing expedition for a well-funded celebrity megalomaniac.; 12/31/05, 8:32 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; 12/31/05, 8:57 PM
Anonymous said...: "You can't be that wierd and run for office..." How about Kinky Friedman down in Texas? At least he's funnier than The Donald.; 12/31/05, 9:06 PM
D.E. Cloutier said...: Stiles: "Trump is a businessman who has declared bankruptcy for his casino company, saying "It doesn't matter - it's a modern-day thing, a legal mechanism."

No pain, no gain.

The best baseball players in the world hit about 3 out of 10.

I prefer to put my trust in executives who have experience overcoming failures.

Executives who have led charmed lives often fall apart at the first serious setback in their lives. In many cases, these folks never recover.

Trump is a fighter who can take punches. He doesn't have a glass jaw.; 12/31/05, 10:09 PM
Eli Blake said...: Too thin skinned.

Last week, he got chased by a group of homeowners in Phoenix (they petitioned to reverse a city council motion allowing him to build a high rise; after they succeeded, he pulled out of the investment group he was in and stormed all the way back to New York).

If he can't even face the heat from a couple of homeowners associations in Phoenix and fight it out, how do you think he will fare in the viscious and byzantine world that is New York politics (a world the Spitzer knows as well as anyone).

For a Republican to win statewide in New York, they have to be like George Pataki or Alphonse D'Amato: with a skin as thick as an alligator's. And as D'Amato found out, even that might not be good enough if you draw a tough enough street-fighter for an opponent.; 12/31/05, 10:44 PM
Eli Blake said...: Stiles:

The Republicans have more than a foothold in Albany-- they control the legislature.

They may have a huge problem though-- it has come to the attention of the census department that their habit of counting prisoners in the prison for the census rather than their home address has resulted in a skew of the population base from downstate NY to upstate NY (a shift favoring the GOP). It turns out that it is also almost certainly illegal. If, as seems likely, this procedure is changed this year, it could result that the first thing next year for the NY legislature to work on would be re-districting, in a situation that would almost certainly cost upstate Republicans seats in favor of inner city Democrats. A Democratic governor taking office would really complicate their efforts (since the map they have now is a Republican gerrmander that Pataki signed off on).; 12/31/05, 10:52 PM
D.E. Cloutier said...: Eli Blake, you have a good point (your "too thin-skinned" comment).

My point was that I don't view Trump's past financial problems as something to fuss about. Trump is an entrepreneur, a different animal from executives who take over existing operations. For entrepreneurs, some ventures work and some ventures don't. It's a fact of life for all but a lucky few.

Is Trump a "thin-skinned" (sensitive to criticism) executive? Or is he an executive who "doesn't like to put up with crap" because he doesn't have to do it--in other words, a "no-nonsense" executive? There is a difference. Most top entrepreneurs fall into the latter group.

Quite frankly, I would be surprised if Trump decided to run. Who needs the headaches? But if he commits FULLY to the race, watch out. He will take no prisoners. The NYC business world is a lot tougher and smarter than the NYC political world. I have experience with both.; 12/31/05, 11:19 PM
chuck b. said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; 1/1/06, 1:24 AM
Unknown said...: Eli Blake said...
You live in Jersey, right? Your just jealous your rich guys are such loser bastards!

Who gives a damn whether he got stymied in some Arizona development deal? Who cares he dances the bankruptcy game like a ballroom king?

He's been kicked in the face more than twice and always comes up with a grin on his face. He could tear Spitzer apart and dangle the innards in front of the poor sap's face.; 1/1/06, 6:18 AM
bearbee said...: "...and dangle the innards in front of the poor sap's face"

Funny.....

Gotta love him:

"But Trump has a good heart, and is a regular contributor to charities. Our favorite story is about an unemployed auto mechanic who once helped Trump get his limo functioning again after it stalled on the highway. The man had no money, yet he didn't accept any payment for his services. Trump was duly impressed by his generosity, so the next day he sent flowers to the mechanic's wife, and a letter certifying that the man's mortgage had been paid off in full."

"Anyone who thinks my story is anywhere near over is sadly mistaken."
-Donald Trump, about his future
Donald Trump; 1/1/06, 6:52 AM
Anonymous said...: A note on one of the weak Republican candidates: As a Massachusetts resident, I can tell you that Bill Weld was a popular and effective Governor. People liked his intelligence, his ironic and often self-deprecating sense of humor, and his pragmatic approach to governance. What sold in Massachusetts, however, will not work in New York, and it's obvious that Elliott Spitzer would eat his lunch if Weld were the GOP candidate.

Unless The Donald ends up running against him, I'm afraid we're just going to have to get used to Gov. Spitzer.; 1/1/06, 9:47 AM
Pat Patterson said...: Echos of Rome, the one candidate with a Caesarian obsession with his hair. The other with the "lean and hungry look" of Cassius.; 1/1/06, 3:55 PM
gahrie said...: 2. Can he really mingle with the people and campaign... I mean without showing contempt?

Kind of interesting that Trump ended up becoming president by attacking other people's contempt for average Americans.; 10/12/18, 1:06 PM