Say A Prayer For Mr Trump's Sacking. By Caleb Jarikre.

Donald Trump

When Donald Trump entered the presidential race, many saw him as a joke, a frightening and alienating joke. The disdain in which he was held by a lot of media people was characterized by when even The Huffington Post consigned any news of his political activity as a presidential candidate to their “Entertainment” section. Taking the long view, and anxious to win, the Republican establishment was having a struggle of how to embrace him because they saw him as uncontrollable and unelectable. 

Brash, combative and incendiary in his disposition, he was not afraid to offend others with his strongly-held views. For a man that is twice divorced from his failed marriages, survived bankruptcies and many business failures, he shrewdly knew that trying to play the political game in the conventional way of being politically correct, he’d stand no chance. His unfolding tactic therefore is to harass and put others on the defensive.

Lambasting the military record of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) the onetime prisoner of war, Trump had said: “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”  Hammering Jeb Bush’s “low energy” , the hapless son and brother of former presidents was humiliated out of the race. Trying to play nice and lead a “gentler, kindler” nation was invalidated in this race, courtesy of Donald Trump!

No less a personality than Mark Cuban, a fellow billionaire, had praised Trump for taunting political orthodoxy. “Trump changed the game,” he wrote. “I don’t care what his actual positions are. I don’t care if he says the wrong thing. He says what’s on his mind. He gives honest answers rather than prepared answers.”  Still as events unfolded, Mark Cuban’s candid assessment of his one-time nemesis had proved to be premature.

Indeed Trump has shown himself to be opportunistic and dishonest rather than courageous in his refusal to denounce his Ku Klux Klan supporters. Some commentators have tried to associate him with Hitler. Is he prejudiced? Is he racist?  Of someone who disputed Obama’s US citizenship, the authenticity of his birth certificate from Hawaii; and said that Obama gave US a “terrible presidency”, Don King, the legendary boxing promoter, said recently: “To me, Donald is Donald. That’s not a presidential endorsement, but a humanistic endorsement. He is a counterpuncher.”  Though Al Sharpton insists that Trump is certainly pandering to racist sentiments.

From accusing the Mexican government of sending deliberately the country’s criminals and rapists to the US; and affirming his strong support for using torture on terrorism suspects, nothing seems to be off-limits to the “Apprentice” star. He had no qualm even in repeating a false story of how Gen. John Pershing dipped bullets “in pigs’ blood” before executing Muslim prisoners in the Philippines a century ago.

(In a reversal though, the front-runner said in a statement first reported on Wall Street Journal of March 4, 2016 that he would not order the US military to violate international laws to fight terrorism. He said "that the United States is bound by laws and treaties, and would not order our military or other officials to violate those laws and will seek their advice on such matters," He added " I will not order a military officer to disobey the law. It is clear that as president I will be bound by laws just like all Americans and I will meet those responsibilities.")  

Having captured all 50 delegates at stake in South Carolina primary, won Nevada, and then winning six states in Super Tuesday (taking a commanding lead in Alaska, as at the time of writing – no surprise, considering Sarah Palin’s endorsement) it is no longer disputed that Donald Trump, as the Republican presidential front-runner, is the man to beat. A prospect The Economist considers “appalling.” 

They wrote in their edition of Feb. 27^th 2016: “ The things Mr Trump has said in this campaign make him unworthy of leading one of the world’s great political parties, let alone America. One way to judge politicians is by whether they appeal to our better natures: Mr Trump has prospered by inciting hatred and violence. He is so unpredictable that the thought of him anywhere near high office is terrifying. He must be stopped.”

It is not doubted that his tough positions on trade and illegal immigration have resonated with many working-class whites, stoking their resentment, political correctness be damned; and he has galvanized voters that otherwise would not have bothered to vote. But with his divisiveness, can Donald Trump be trusted with political power at the level of the presidency of the great nation of America? 

The Economist warned that with his current winning streak, many will become desensitised, hoping to “make peace” with Trump’s excesses, but that would be too dangerous to toy with.

Please, say a prayer for the sacking of Mr Trump!