A few years ago, self-proclaimed genius and all-round good guy Donald Trump announced that he was setting up a university. The real estate developer and television personality believed that traditional four-year colleges were doing a terrible job of educating the youth of America and only he could save the system.
Alas, Trump University, the would-be savior of higher education, ran into some problems. It faced legal challenges about using the “university” label, challenges no doubt conjured up by pusillanimous college presidents fearful of high-quality competition. Trump University was forced to rename itself the Trump Initiative, which sounded slightly less like a purveyor of higher learning and more like, well, Action Item Number 6 in a strategic plan.
The setback would have felled a lesser man. But Trump moved on to other ventures, and after establishing himself once again as a world-class entrepreneur (mostly by making such claims himself), publicly began to entertain the idea of running for president.
Carping voices said Trump was seeking publicity for his television show, but he brushed away such unworthy criticism, possibly regarding it as the hobgoblin of little minds. Ultimately, however, Trump decided against seeking the Republican nomination for president.
America was bereft. Had the country not lost a great opportunity to be led by this man, this king of kings? But we discovered quickly, much to our relief, that Trump did not mean to leave the country to its own devices.
Take his most recent endeavor: a dogged pursuit of the subject of Obama’s birth certificate (and other sundry personal documents). While Fox News Channel graciously gave Trump a forum to advance his unorthodox ideas, other media outlets revealed their unfair and unbalanced bent by making him an object of ridicule. Late-night comedians loved him. Newspaper columnists prayed he would never leave the public limelight.
But Trump, undeterred by such outpourings, was grimly determined to expose the charlatan in the White House and save the country. Just days before the election, he took his quest to a new, philanthropic level. In what can only be described as an unaccustomed spasm of generosity, Trump offered to give $5 million to a charity of Obama’s choice in exchange for the release of the president’s college records and passport application.
But if Trump was expecting thanks from a grateful nation, he was soon disabused of the notion. On Comedy Central, Stephen Colbert offered $1 million to a charity of Trump’s choice in exchange for, well, doing something that could only be mentioned on cable television. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said he would donate $1 million to charity if Trump shaved his head.
Comments on Twitter were even harsher. The Internet — that series of tubes — can be an unforgiving place. One can only hope that, in the face of public opprobrium, Trump retains his customary obliviousness and continues to work to make America better.