Trump Card

Ever since Donald Trump announced that he was considering running for President in 2012, there has been a media firestorm of speculation regarding whether he will run and what his chances of winning might be. Bill O'Reilly more or less dismissed The Donald as a serious candidate, as did well-respected conservative journalist Charles Krauthammer. Just this past Sunday, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) jumped on the bandwagon as well. Alexander was discussing the pool of potential 2012 presidential contenders on CNN's "State of the Union" when he told CNN’s Candy Crowley that there's “always someone like Donald Trump who has absolutely no chance of winning,” and that Trump is “famous for being famous."

Now, Trump is starting to hit back at his critics, which you knew had to come sooner or later. He said that Alexander should “stop trying to get free publicity on the back of Donald Trump." He then continued his verbal assault by saying, “Sen. Lamar Alexander, who I do not know and have heard very little about over the years, perhaps because of a certain ineffectiveness, has recently stolen my line, word for word, about [Texas Rep.] Ron Paul, by stating that ‘Donald Trump has absolutely no chance of winning’ in a Presidential contest."

Wow. In just one sentence, Trump labeled Alexander as ineffective, a virtual unknown, and a plagiarist. Nice going, Donald.

I agree with the senator from Tennessee that Trump is "famous for being famous." That fame can be just as much a curse as it is a blessing for Trump if he throws his hat into the ring, because for every American that loves him for his entrepeneurship, confidence, and the fact that he rose from a humble background to become a real estate tycoon, there is another American who hates him for his arrogance, endless quest for publicity and power, and that infamous hairstyle of his.

Right now though, The Donald is focused on the latest season of "Celebrity Apprentice," and has said that he will not make a decision on his candidacy until June. I hope that he runs, because I believe he has a lot to add to the field, even if his chances of winning are slim to none. Let's take a look at his platform, especially focusing on what foreign policy would like in a Trump administration.

Mr. Trump has said over and over again that he does not trust China. He does not view them as our friend, and is one-hundred percent convinced that they are taking advantage of us. He believes that they manipulate their own currency, though they deny the allegations over and over again. What's really scary is that they continue to purchase our debt, and that if America ever reaches a point where we can't pay them back, then we will be at their mercy. Thus Trump, like the Tea Party, is a huge advocate of cutting spending and balancing the budget so that we don't have to continue borrowing. He has even come out and said that he would impose huge tariffs on Chinese exports to the USA.

Trump has spoken out against Pakistan as well, citing that they gladly accept our aid but will not deliver Osama bin Laden to us. Of course, Pakistan denies that they know where the Al-Qaeda leader is hiding out and insists that they are doing everything they can to find him. But Trump isn't buying it, and irrefutable proof has surfaced that Pakistani intelligence services are in bed with the terrorists. Thus he would withhold aid from Pakistan unless they cooperated fully.

Trump has lashed out against OPEC, and with good reason. When oil peaked at $147 a barrel in the summer of 2008, its member countries were in their glory. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even stated that oil had yet to find its true value, predicting that it would rise to $200 a barrel. But soon oil prices began to slip, and eventually they bottomed out at under $60 a barrel by November. OPEC leaders gathered and decided to cut production, claiming that they needed to boost prices back up to a level that was fair. These are the type of games that anger Trump. OPEC didn't look to increase the supply when the price of oil was skyrocketing and American citizens were feeling the pinch, despite pleas from our government. Thus Trump is focused on energy independence so that America can once and for all escape the hold that OPEC has on us.

All of his other views seem to be in line with the classic conservative political philosophy. Trump is pro-life, pro-capital punishment, and against amnesty for illegal immigrants. He supports the current stand that governors have taken against labor unions, and is all for school choice. Most of all, he favors a much smaller government, claiming that government scrutiny is the greatest threat to the American dream.

I have to say that I am not so quick to dismiss his chances of winning the presidency. O'Reilly, Krauthammer, and Alexander may want to take a glance at the most recent Newsweek/Daily Beast poll numbers. Trump was just two percentage points behind President Obama in a hypothetical head-to-head ballot, 43 to 41, and well within the poll’s sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

I'm sure that many people will argue that Trump is only doing this for publicity, or that he's simply the most power-hungry person on the face of the earth. While I can't deny that The Donald is a publicity hound who loves being in charge, I do believe that he is a patriotic American who is genuinely concerned about the direction of our country. I hear the sincerity in his words, and I empathize with them because I feel the same way that he does.

That is why I hope he launches a bid for the White House, because even if he can't win the primary, he's sure to leave his mark on the rest of the field. No one else is talking about getting tough with China by hitting them with tariffs. No one else has suggested withholding aid from Pakistan until they deliver bin Laden's head on a platter. No one else has lashed out at OPEC as strongly as he has, or stated so clearly that America needs to regain its standing as the world's dominant superpower. Trump has been very effective in articulating his foreign policy, and has made it clear that no other candidate would be as firm in dealing with the countries that are playing us like a fiddle.

If he runs, and if he gains enough support to show that his message is resonating with voters, it could be a game-changer. Think about it. The candidate who ultimately wins the GOP nomination will then have to give serious consideration to some of Trump's positions in order to gain those votes.Whoever that person is may then have to toughen their stance on foreign policy, knowing that this is what conservative voters want. Trump is a smart man, and he knows that even if he can't win, he can have a lot of influence on the future GOP candidate as well as the outcome of the election. For this wildcard contender to roll the dice, the potential reward is well worth the risk.