TRUMP’S ART OF THE DEAL
Fox News and Donald Trump have much in common: Both are formidable titans of the media. And clever. Their recent spat over a single Republican debate has generated as much serious news coverage and trite buzz as the debate cycle itself. But Fox News and Mr. Trump are old friends. Why, he’s appeared on the network 133 times in recent years; everything was easy-breezy. What’s happening here? Another titan offers insight about Mr. Trump.
“He is controlling the media, and it’s his objective. He controls the media when he’s not on it. He controls the media when he is on it. He controls the media when he’s asleep,” radio host Rush Limbaugh told his audience. “Nobody else has been able to do anything like this short of the Kennedys, and they’re pikers compared to the way Trump is doing this.”
Mr. Limbaugh advises the curious to consult Mr. Trump’s bestsellers.
“Trump is not that hard to understand if you pay attention to him and read his books. In ‘The Art of the Deal,’ one of the things that he makes a huge deal about is being able to know when to walk away and have the guts and the courage to do it,” Mr. Limbaugh noted.
BEHOLD THE TRUMP BURGER
Take a half-pound of ham, a third-pound of beef, grilled onions, homemade bread, and what have you got? It’s the Trump Burger, now offered at the historic Northside Cafe, located in Winterset, Iowa — about 15 miles southwest of Des Moines, and the birthplace of John Wayne. The 139-year-old eatery confirms that the new entree is a huge hit. “Customers just love the Trump Burger,” a spokeswoman tells Inside the Beltway.
“This burger is all business. Made like the man who likes to ham it up for the cameras, it’s stacked with ham, but don’t worry — it’s piled on top of our famous no-nonsense, all-beef, all-American burger patty made from our special brisket and chuck grind,” the chef says in extensive notes on the dish.
“We’ve added shredded cheese as Trump continues to shred the competition in the polls. Grilled onions for all the tears from political pros who can’t figure Trump out. And it’s served on our incredible Northside bread, right here in the heart of America. We’re making the hamburger great again.”
BLOOMBERG WORTH MORE THAN TRUMP
There has been renewed chatter that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is mulling a White House run as an independent. If true, that means there will be two Manhattan billionaires in the race — Mr. Bloomberg and Republican front-runner Donald Trump — ironic in the age of financial uncertainty.
But wait, Mr. Bloomberg is worth $26 billion more than Mr. Trump, according to the Forbes magazine roster of the uber-rich. Mr. Trump checks in at $4.6 billion, though he claims he has about $10 billion, while Mr. Bloomberg has $36.5 billion.
We’ve been here before. Mr. Bloomberg, now a 73-year-old bachelor, has surfaced as a presidential candidate 21 times since 2006, according to an Atlantic magazine analysis of the press coverage. “I would love to see Michael run. I would love the competition. I’d love to see what would happen. He’s the opposite of me in many ways — opposite on guns, opposite on numerous issues,” Mr. Trump told The New York Times.
“Bloomy is unlikely to throw his wallet in the ring. He’s too smart to go on a fool’s errand,” says veteran New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin. “He won’t run if he can’t win, and anybody who sells him a vision of victory is suffering hallucinations or looking for a payday. Especially fanciful is the idea that he could run as an independent at this point and win the Electoral College.”
FOR THE LEXICON
“Trust in God Townhall”
— New campaign outreach by Republican hopeful Ben Carson.
THE FAITH FACTOR: CARSON WINS
“The conventional wisdom in American politics has long been that someone who is not religious cannot be elected president of the United States. Most Americans have consistently said that it is important to them that the president have strong religious beliefs,” says a Pew Research Center survey released Thursday. “Being an atheist remains one of the biggest liabilities that a presidential candidate can have; 51 percent of American adults say they would be less likely to vote for a hypothetical presidential candidate who does not believe in God, while just 6 percent say they would be more likely to vote for a nonbeliever.”
Another 42 percent said they would be less likely to support a Muslim, 41 percent felt the same about a candidate with personal financial troubles, 37 percent frowned on extramarital affairs, 31 percent say “longtime Washington experience” is a liability. About one fourth were uneasy about a candidate who was gay or lesbian, 23 percent objected to a Mormon and 20 percent were leery of a candidate who had used marijuana.
Among Republican presidential hopefuls, Ben Carson was seen as the strongest faith candidate by all U.S. voters; 68 percent said he is religious, followed closely by Sen. Ted Cruz at 65 percent and Sen. Marco Rubio at 61 percent. GOP front-runner Donald Trump was a distant 30 percent. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton was seen as religious by 48 percent, Sen. Bernard Sanders by 40 percent.
But it’s complicated.
“Being seen as a religious person is generally an asset for candidates; people who think a candidate is a religious person tend to be more likely to see that candidate as a potentially good president. But many Republicans think Trump would be a good president despite his perceived lack of religiousness,” the poll says. Indeed. Of the 56 percent of GOP voters who think Trump would be a “good or great president,” only a third believe he’s religious.
SNOW SHOVELING, FEDERAL EDITION
It’s a monumental task. Following the recent blockbuster blizzard in the nation’s capital, the National Park Service plowed and shoveled away 61,875 tons of snow from the monuments, memorials, roadways and sidewalks along the National Mall. Carefully.
“Crews take special care when shoveling at the monuments and memorials to ensure that these icons are not chipped or damaged, especially the soft Colorado Yule marble of the Lincoln Memorial steps, or the pink Tennessee marble of the floors at the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials,” the federal agency said. “National Park Service maintenance crews use a concrete-friendly calcium magnesium compound to melt snow and ice on sidewalks, and a salt sand mixture to melt snow and ice on roadways.”
The teams ultimately removed 8.25 million cubic feet of snow from the memorials and the access ways, and tended to 55 miles of sidewalks, 47 miles of roadways, plus 600,000 square feet of public plazas.
TRUMP SUMMARY
“I will make our military so big, powerful & strong that no one will mess with us.”
— Republican front-runner Donald Trump in a recent tweet.
RUBIO SUMMARY
“We have a president who is trying to make America more like the rest of the world. In essence, we have a president who is trying to make us more like the countries people come here to get away from.”
— Sen. Marco Rubio, also in a recent tweet.
JEB BUSH TAKES OFF HIS GLASSES
Score one for Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, who previously vowed he would never take off his “stinking glasses” despite criticism from critics. Has his focus changed? A recent appearance on ABC News revealed the new and improved Jeb, minus glasses, wearing an impeccable dark gray suit and flag pin, hair precisely trimmed, his demeanor calm and direct.
Mr. Bush is upping his game despite setbacks in the polls. He’s still got such stalwarts as Sen. Lindsey Graham and Bob Dole in his camp, and the formidable Bush clan is not about to see their man lose without serious, strategic pushback. Attention to glasses, hairdo, weight, necktie color and other excruciating details is serious stuff for White House aspirants.
“Acting presidential is one thing, appearing presidential can be another, and in the contemporary United States, it is hard to know which is more important,” points out “American Photography,” a PBS documentary film project that traced presidential image-making back to Abraham Lincoln, who tapped the talents of famed photographer Matthew Brady to help him out at the time.
“Brady pulled up Lincoln’s collar to cover his long neck, retouched his face to eliminate the gauntness and, in general, gave him what we would now call a photographic makeover. From that day to this, presidents have struggled to look good,” PBS points out.
A BOOKMAKER WEIGHS IN
London-based William Hill, the world’s biggest bookmaker, has this to say about the 2016 White House bout: “We can report that Donald Trump is for the first time the favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination at 5/4, having started at 33/1. He is 10/3 second favorite to become the next President of the United States,” says spokesman Rupert Adams. The betting public has taken note, apparently
“The run of cash for Donald Trump has been astonishing. He is a six-figure loser for us and by far our worst result,” Mr. Adams adds.
Even more numbers: To become Republican presidential nominee: 5/4 Donald Trump. 9/4 Marco Rubio, 7/2 Ted Cruz, 10/1 Jeb Bush, 20/1 Chris Christie, 25/1 John Kasich, 33/1 Mitt Romney, 80/1 Ben Carson. And for the next president, at this juncture: 8/11 Hillary Clinton, 10/3 Donald Trump, 6/1 Bernard Sanders, 6/1 Marco Rubio, 16/1 Ted Cruz, 22/1 Jeb Bush.
THE DOG ATE MY TIMECARD
There’s a poll for everything. CareerBuilder — a workplace research group — recently surveyed 2,600 human resource managers around the nation who revealed that a third of their employees typically come in late for one reason or another. Over half blamed traffic, a third overslept, 28 percent blamed weather, 23 percent were simply tired and 15 percent cited child care problems. Then there were the other reasons, these volunteered by the respondents. The following are excuses which the HR folks had heard in the last year, verbatim:
“I thought of quitting today, but then decided not to, so I came in late. My hair caught on fire from my blow dryer. I was detained by Homeland Security. I had to chase my cows back into the field. A black bear entered my carport. My lizard had to have emergency surgery in the morning. All of my clothes were stolen. I was confused by the time change and unsure if it was spring forward or fall back. A Vaseline truck overturned on the highway.”
POLL DU JOUR
65 percent of Democratic voters say there’s a better chance for Hillary Clinton to be elected president; 26 percent say Sen. Bernie Sanders has a better chance.
57 percent of Democratic voters say they will “definitely vote” for Mrs. Clinton; 41 percent say there’s a chance they will change their mind.
48 percent say Mr. Sanders is the most honest; 36 percent say Mrs. Clinton is more honest.
47 percent say Mrs. Clinton is “closer to them on the issues”; 43 percent cite Mr. Sanders.
46 percent say they will definitely vote for Mr. Sanders; 53 percent say there’s a chance they will change their mind.
Source: An ABC News/Washington Post poll of 340 registered Democratic voters conducted Jan. 21-24.
Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin
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