ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Donald Trump has lost the Muslim vote.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Mr. Trump doesn’t always play well with others.
He’s a sure bet, a gadfly and a big-time gambler.
He’s like a jack-in-the-box — he either pops up when you least expect him, or the churn of the news cycle forces him to pop up.
Such was the case Monday, when, prior to remarks recognizing American bravery and patriotism following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Trump proposed that the United States deny entry to Muslims.
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“Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life,” Mr. Trump said.
When an aide was asked to confirm and explain the Republican presidential candidate’s comments, the aide offered a one-word explanation — “death.”
Mr. Trump is not one of America’s run-of-the-mill politicians, as the one box he fits into (for now) is the one that’s labeled Republican.
Oh, wait, Independent. No, Democrat. Uh, Reform.
What’s more, he’s neither conservative nor liberal. He’s just Donald Trump, and we’ve grown accustomed to his brutal but honest take on various affairs — excuse me, various issues.
Donald Trump doesn’t need anyone or any issue to crank him up. His views on immigrants are bigoted, and — compared to those of his rivals — unpresidential and disingenuous as well.
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Take Sunday night, when he wondered aloud on Twitter about whom President Obama could have been referring when he said “Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our coworkers, our sports heroes.”
Well, just call The Donald “Forgetful Trump.” For starters, there’s “The Greatest,” legendary boxer and Olympian Muhammad Ali, who honored Mr. Trump at Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XIII. That was on March 24, 2007.
There’s also Mr. Ali’s gorgeous daughter Laila, a boxing champ in her own right.
Mr. Trump should pull out the Geritol, because there are tons more, including boxer Bernard Hopkins, who fought in Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.
Who and what sports, Mr. Trump asked?
How could he not recall Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s long, lean hook machine? Shaquille O’Neal, Akeem Olajuwon, Rasheed Wallace and Larry Johnson?
And while Mr. Trump was proving himself as a New York businessman to be taken seriously, Ahmad Rashad was doing the same on football fields in college and the NFL.
And after Mr. Trump had become more than a mere uber-developer and businessman, there’s Mike Tyson, who endorsed his presidential candidacy in October. Of this year.
Mr. Ali and Mr. Tyson, two of the most famous and easily recognizable athletes around the globe, paid considerable homage to Mr. Trump, and he forgot they are Muslims.
Said Motherjones.com on Monday morning, after his Twitter commentary: “Trump and Tyson are old friends who did business together in the late 1980s, when the real estate mogul promoted and hosted several of Tyson’s fights at his Atlantic City casinos and even fashioned himself for a time as the boxer’s ’business adviser.’ And in a largely forgotten episode, Trump came to the boxer’s aid during one the darkest moments of Tyson’s career — his 1992 conviction for raping a beauty queen. To save the champ from being locked up, Trump pitched a highly controversial proposal that would have essentially allowed Tyson to buy his way out of prison. To some observers, it looked like Trump was engaging in a form of bribery — or at least attempting to rig the system.”
Mr. Trump needs to stick to a religion-free script, if anyone dares to hand him one. If not, I’m on the record: Donald John Trump, he of European roots, won’t be coming to Washington as president but as a rich hotel owner. He has officially begun to crash and burn.
He’s accused Mr. Obama of many things, including not being American, and on Sunday night he accused the president of racial profiling because Mr. Obama cited our Muslim-American sports heroes.
Seems the pot is calling the kettle black.
• Deborah Simmons can be reached at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
• Deborah Simmons can be reached at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
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