Full disclosure: I never watched a single episode of The Apprentice, a "reality" TV show starring and co-produced by Donald Trump. It survived 14 years in a tough market, which is no small achievement. The entire "reality" phenomenon has never interested me, or to be fair, the other DrC.
That said, what a fine learning experience that show - plus his walks on the wild side with pro wrestling and beauty pageants - must have been for a youngish real estate tycoon. Both were low risk ways to get in touch with the tastes of the American public outside NYC. They were his side gigs while still running Trump, Inc. - his "day job."
My favorite Trump story concerns him sitting in the Green Room after being on one or another talk show asking the techs to play back the tape with the video turned off. This busy guy spending an hour learning what shtick worked and which flopped minus the distraction of audio.
Somewhere along the route he got hooked on the "roar of the crowd," and an entertainment/political career was birthed. His campaign rallies draw thousands of fans much as Taylor Swift concerts do, and for similar reasons. He's a tough act to follow, or compete with, but Bill Maher does okay too, Joe Biden not so much.
Democrats complain that Trump lies. What he does often, is exaggerate for effect. Much as any comic will do. Was anyone in real life as overtly cheap as Jack Benny claimed to be? Likely not. Did Dean Martin exaggerate his drinking, Bob Hope his love of golf? Almost certainly. Like those, Trump fans know to take him seriously, but not literally.
For example his claim that he'd end the Ukraine war in a day. Nobody believes that to be literally true. They understand he'd likely tell Zelensky he should settle for what he has now, do a West Germany with it, and be so dang successful the lost eastern parts of the country will want to be reconnected with Ukraine. And offer the remaining Ukraine NATO membership as a consolation prize. It could work, and he could sell it.
We don't really believe he will deport all the millions of illegals now here, but we understand he will deport a large number and make conditions sufficiently unattractive for the remainder that many will self-deport and others will be dissuaded from coming.
The key to Trump, my learned friends, is this: take him seriously, but not literally. He understands "real Americans" better than his competition. And we "get" him.
