Let me start by stating that no way will I vote for Donald Trump.  I am a strong Bernie Sander supporter and hold quite forward-looking views.  So when I look at the Republican party lineup of candidates Donald Trump doesn’t look all that bad to me.  Sure he is probably the most narcissistic and super egotistical among them but he is not idealistic.  He does not have the same fundamentalist moral and religious fervor of the other candidates or a strong conservative determination to make central government smaller.  He likes power so he will inherently want that part of the federal government he can control to be larger and strong.  Trump does not represent extreme right-wing conservative values and that is why the Republican Party is struggling to hold him to those standards.  But he has said such outlandish things during his campaign that he cannot possibly keep those promise so who can believe anything he says, especially those of his own party, except those who are so fed up with the Republican party-line that they blindly follow him?

He is most certainly a loose cannon to the Republican Party and a person who is completely unknown and inexperienced in politics.  But the alternatives seem much more of a threat to me and my values.  The other top Republican candidates represent extreme right-wing conservative and religious values to me and are a real threat to everything I believe is fair, just, and forward-looking.  They want to get rid of Obamacare, get rid of social security and medicare, get rid of gay rights, stop gun control efforts, forbid abortions, permit prayers in schools, get rid of federal support of education, limit more taxes to the super rich, reduce funding to NATO and the UN, make the federal government smaller, decrease or eliminate the authority of regulatory agencies, allow more offshore oil exploration and onshore fracking, deny climate change and efforts to curb it, etc.  Essentially they want to roll back history before the times of the civil rights movement or even the civil war.

I don’t really know what Donald Trump would do as President but I don’t think he holds any idealistic political or moral views or agendas.  That means he may be more willing to compromise.  He simply wants to win.  How he wins matters less.  So he may be more willing to trade something with the Democrats to gain what he wants if that is what it takes.  He may actually run afoul of his own party more so than get in trouble with the Democrat party.  I don’t think Trump is stupid nor do I think he is especially bright.  It depends largely upon whom he brings in as his White House Staff and Cabinet and how willing he is to listen to their advice that will determine the success of his presidency.  I think that at least in the beginning he will have to listen to his advisors since running government is going to be very much different than running a business.  He will have less control than he is used to.  Traditions in government-run very deep and he does not control Congress.  He is quite a mystery to everyone probably including himself.  He tends to look at the present and not think of the future.

It has been suggested that since he holds the launch codes that he will impulsively launch missiles at China or more likely Russia if angered or frustrated with them.  I do not believe Trump to be a madman ready to destroy the world including much of this nation and his fortunes.  The stock market would instantly crash.  It would not be good for his business or his future.  Such suicidal actions are not in his vested interests.  He needs China and would like to do future business in Russia.  He also knows that Europe depends upon gas and oil from Russia and he needs Europe where he has investments.  He is the last person to want such a war.  So I am not concerned.

The alternative major candidates of his party: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, and Ben Carson are definitely not my cup of tea.  They are more for the Tea Party than for a tea party.  Some would like to return to the days of the founding of our nation when the federal government was small and state governments stronger and the liberal ideas at that time are their conservative values of today.  They would make major shifts in both domestic and foreign policies which can be good but mostly very bad.  I am far more of a forward-looking individual who would rather learn from the past to do better in the future rather than return to it.  I do not see Trump as a person determined to go Back To The Future though there are those who say that is exactly what he is based upon what he says in his campaign.  But I feel this is simply his marketing speaking to gain votes in order to win the election which means everything to him.  Winning is a game to this multi-billionaire and that is his goal.

What he does next if he actually elected is probably something even he doesn’t know but what he has to figure outs as the next game.  Winning in popularity as president is going to take far more than words and campaign promises.  And he will have his eyes constantly on popularity polls for sure because that is likely going to be his thermometer for success and what will drive his political moves since he has few principles to guide him.  Popularity and winning means everything to his narcissistic ego.  He needs popular approval as validation of success.  Needless to say I will not be voting for Donald Trump nor would I have voted for any of the other Republican candidates.  They are all very poor choices to making a president who represents my values and needs.

But Trump is very shrewd.  He is setting expectations for his followers high and expectations for everyone else including his party and the press very low so if he becomes president it will be easier for him to raise those low expectations as well as his poll numbers.