Elephant Dung #29: David Koch, of Koch Brothers fame, smacks down Donald Trump

Tracking the GOP Civil War

By Michael J.W. Stickings

(For an explanation of this ongoing series, see here. For previous entries, see here.)

This is soft, mushy dung tied up in a bow.

On Saturday, David Koch told the New York Daily News that Trump isn't exactly his choice for the White House -- and doesn't exactly have what it takes to be president:

"Donald Trump is exposing himself to a lot of attacks," said Koch. "As much as I like Donald, he's sort of asking for it." He laughed again, then observed that "Donald's political positions over the last 10 years have been highly variable and unusual. He's a wonderful guy, but I don't think he should run for office."

Noting Trump's love of press, Koch said the "Celebrity Apprentice" host is "getting more publicity than he ever dreamed about right now." But, he added, "at some point I think he's going to drop out of the race when he realizes that he's really not qualified to be President."

Allow me to quibble:

First, "a wonderful guy"? I suppose right-wing billionaires who prop up the Tea Party and seek to turn government into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corporate America have their own ideas of "wonderful."

Second, I'm sure Trump has dreamed of this much publicity before. He probably dreams of even more.

Third, this won't be about Trump himself coming to realize he's not qualified to be president. Assuming that he thinks he's qualified, and that's a fairly safe assumption, he'll never not think he's qualified. It's part of who he is, a megalomaniac who thinks he can do no wrong and that he's better than everyone else. He's not even running yet, but should he, if/when he drops out it won't be because he's come to some sort of awareness of his limitations but because he doesn't want to subject himself to the toil and travail, and spotlight, of a serious national political campaign, because he doesn't want the various skeletons in his closet to be brought to light, and maybe also because he knows/suspects he'd lose, however much that contradicts his overriding sense of superiority.

But who knows? Maybe he'll run and maybe he'll even do well. Would you really put it past the GOP to go with a loudmouth megalomaniacal celebrity businessman who panders to its extremism?

In any event, it may be helpful to remember what Koch said.