Interviewed today on One-America News Network, real estate mogul and former reality TV star Donald Trump found a mutual admiration society with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, once called by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) “the future of the Republican Party.” Picked by McCain in 2008 as his running mate, Palin helped sink McCain’s campaign against President Barack Obama. Once considered a rising star in the Republican Party, Palin’s become a has- been, not because she’s too old but precisely because her extreme right-wing views became obsolete. Pslin was Obama’s worst critic in 2008, often insinuating to large crowds he was a Kenyan-born Muslim, drawing anger at packed campaign stops. Joining forces with McCain, Palin has nothing to lose, while Turmp, on the other hand, associates himself with one of the most aborted campaigns in U.S. history. McCain never admitted that picking Palin in 2008 doomed his presidential campaign.
Paying compliments to Trump, Palin hopes she’ll be considered for something as the campaign progresses. Trump’s well-aware of how Palin tanked McCain’s 2008 campaign. McCain has never admitted publicly that his chief strategist Michael Murphy botched the VP pick in 2008. “I’ve said since the day he made the sacrifice to hit the campaign trail: Voters crave and anti-status-quo politician,” said Palin, which, on the surface, sounds like a compliment, but when looking deeper is actually an insult. Palin was equally politically incorrect in 2008, making indefensible statements on the campaign trail. If there’s any parallel to Trump, it’s that Sarah blames Obama for everything but the kitchen sink. Trump ripped Obama last week when Wall Street decided, as usual, to take profits, dropping the market 14%. When markets rebounded, Trump had little more to say about Wall Street. Trump wants voters to believe things would be different on Wall Street if he were president, claiming he’d create more good paying jobs than Obama.
No Republican candidate wants to face the music as to what the economy needs to help the struggling U.S. middle class. Since Obama took office Jan. 20, 2009, he’s been fought tooth-and-nail on adding more federal jobs. Trump keeps saying he’d be the jobs’ president but, under Obama’s watch, the economy added some 12 million jobs. Reports of Trump’s own employees in his many real estate ventures earning low wages, or, for that matter, actually hiring illegal aliens has been mentioned. Promising to build a 1,000-mile border wall, Trump outlines the frustrations of millions of American workers that watched their jobs outsourced overseas over the last 30 years. “They want results. They need a fighter. They need someone to fire those politically correct police,” said Palin, again emphasizing Trump’s rebellious side, identifying with him as an insurgent candidate. Trump’s so painfully conventional, he’s been adopted by the White Supremacist movement.
Palin gave Trump kudos for ejecting Univision reporter Jorge Ramos, whose daughter works for Hillary’s campaign, from a press conference Aug. 26, calling him a subversive liberal. Palin thinks kissing up to Trump could potentially win her another stint on the GOP ticket, should he win the nomination. Trump’s savvy enough to know that Sarah’s a liability to any campaign as McCain found out in 2008. If Trump hopes to shift gears from tabloid news reporting, he needs to get more serious about the issues and avoid political flamethrowers like Palin. Trump can’t expect to turn his campaign into the world’s greatest reality TV show. Palin likes the drama but Trump needs legitimize his campaign, not let Palin continue pushing the carnival atmosphere. When Trump faces his rivals Oct. 16 at CNN’s GOP debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., he’ll be the target of vicious attacks, hopefully not from CNN’s moderators.
Watching his campaign sink from front-runner to 7%, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush doesn’t have much time left to reverse the nosedive. Unlike other GOP candidates with less money, Bush’s high expectations haven’t panned out. Showing more sour grapes only makes Bush less suitable for the Oval Office. Trump’s spontaneous stump speeches and interviews have dominated the GOP’s media coverage in a crowded field. Palin’s wrong to think that Trump’s outsider, maverick ideas appeal to disgruntled voters. What voters like about Trump is not his nonconformity or rebelliousness but his bigger-than-life personality, reminding them of the late GOP icon President Ronald Reagan. While there are many differences with Reagan, like spent eight years as California governor, both are witty, charming and entertaining characters on the campaign trail. Next to other GOP candidates, Trumps looks presidential, more ready for prime-time.
Getting Palin’s endorsement—or attention—carries a double-edged sword for Trump heading into the next GOP debate. Unable to pin him down on his “conservatism,” Jeb tried to tell voters that Trump had no conservative track record. Spending no time in elected office has turned into a plus for Trump, showing no inconsistent voting record on key Republican issues. What the Republican National Committee hasn’t digested is that voters aren’t as concerned in 2016 with ideology. Voters look for a new voice and fresh face to put the Obama experiment behind them. If Trump has any shot of winning the GOP nomination, he needs to avoid folks like Palin. “I have to tell you, you are a terrific person and it’s great to be with you,” Trump told Palin. As long as Trump keeps it to idle compliments, he won’t have any problems with folks like Palin. Palin’s rapid anti-Obama partisanship no longer plays well even inside the GOP’s most conservative circles.
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