Written by Robert S. Becker   

To pinpoint the Trumpster as full of sound and fury but void of heroism, compare his caricature with Joseph Campbell’s depiction in The Hero with a Thousand Faces:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.

Blowhards without any political record promise marvels that defy belief (great walls paid by others, “job-creation second only to God”). True heroes risk everything and achieve triumphant marvels, then return to serve the common good. Beware the Trumpery of declaring himself “winner” before battling “fabulous forces” on major, primary battlefields. Irony as fat as his mouth: if CEO Trump stopped to appraise his own, utterly empty resume, would he not instantly sputter, “Get your sorry ass out of here. You’re fired before you hired”?

For what a career of serial greed kept him from doing is learn the craft of politics. And now this sham independent has the nerve to promote this ultimate hustle: “elect me for what I am not,” a puppet owned by corrupt special interests. Let’s list everything else Trump is not, like a thoughtful, compassion leader with demonstrable government gains. And what devious tycoon (infamous for defending deceitful dealmaking) comes without corrupting interests, like rampant ego, vainglory and adventurism? What devious scoundrel would not equate the fiction of permanent self-financing with moral purity? And when did Trump major in the ego-less charity business, expending his treasure all to restore lost American greatness?

That delusion is about to end, as Trump’s polling success now requires oodles of money to stay competitive beyond his ready cash reserves (or desires). And that means Plan B, an automatic shift since his seeded “business gambit” is working. “Self-financing” is already old news, as Trump readies to embrace the freest money available to any venture capitalist, whether running for office or running an office. What cash comes with fewer actual strings than woefully-regulated, limitless campaign “donations” free for the taking?

And all this bait and switch requires is for Trump to rework his scam. Simply redefine that what is for all other politicians crude bribery (“ownership”) is for this moral exemplum only “investments” (like shares) without any “strings attached.” Please. This faux, newly-hatched “conservative” (by dubious agreement with week with the RNC) would never sell himself (“I’m too rich to be bought”), only find ways to make “America Great Again.” So open the floodgates, per CNN, not just for Trump-friendly superPacs and 501(c)3 non-profits (source anonymity), but simple “investments” from ordinary folks. Trumpery by nature must expand to succeed.

Rich ‘Nobodies' Count

“One of the things they like about me is nobody's going to buy me," Donald Trump bellowed last week in Iowa. True, “nobody” (poor nobodies) buys Trump. Only fat cat buddies with whom he breaks bread — or ground for casinos and skyscrapers — even predating pristine Scottish coastlines, per this chilling, must see documentary, “You’ve Been Trumped”.

In Iowa Tuesday, Mr. Shameless Wonder bemoaned how much self-financing costs him, repeating the equation of money with bribery, "I turn down so much money. I feel like such a stupid person" . . . How about if I take all of this money -- and I promise you, I swear to you -- that I won't do anything for these people. How about that?” On cue, the barrage of boos confirmed Trump’s moral exceptionalism. But later on Face the Nation, what defines “special interests” got downright mushy, ”Certainly I would take contributions, I actually like the idea of investing in a campaign . . . But it has to be no strings attached. I don't want any strings attached.” So now “investors” are all Santa Clauses, their largesse untarnished by “strings” or gift wrapping?

Note the simplistic implication, that every and every donor “owns” candidates, lock, stock and barrel when in fact access and influence on legislation is what routinely gets purchased. What rightwing donor worries about “buying votes” as national Republicans vote with lock-step precision? Truth is, every small donors like me make campaign donations with firm expectations our noble candidate will speak for our interests. Only simpletons, without political nuance, buy Trump’s knee-jerk, quid pro quo equation of money = bribery.

Follow the Money

Did it ever make sense that Trump, pitching his savvy, selfish money-making genius, would suddenly embrace a selfless charity model for politics, especially when the price tag for winning explodes? Let’s consider assumptions to explain this switcheroo.

Yes, a blustery, narcissistic, ex-liberal real estate celebrity puts up, say, $5 million in “seed capital” to test his chances at GOP razzle-dazzle. Flies his own plane, keep staff costs low, dishes out outrageous slanders and personal digs, and the gaseousness of blowing your own “rich, very rich” horn.
Item: WH runs today cost $1 billion dollars. And what ego-driven shark, seeking the ultimate CEO job title, would not go all in? Otherwise, the horrors and shame of becoming a loser.
The core Trump sales pitch equation: my astonishing fortune equates with my alone delivering political astonishments. Who expects Trump to spend up his own $1 billion on the longest-shot gamble of his career? What business genius puts so much family treasure on the line with outsiders banging down the door?
Trump buys into the greedy, yet risk-averse religion, “the art of this deal,” thus playing with other people’s money is by far the only serious option.

Follow the Free Money

Consider the irresistible appeal of “campaign contributions” vs. the real liability of “investments.” Virtually “free,” campaign money

Comes in unlimited, often unsolicited amounts, sometimes anonymously,
Comes without financial “strings,” like interest payments or contracts,
Over which you and staff have total spending sway,
And much without detailed “strings attached,” plus
Best of all, are tax free and almost NEVER get returned.

What hustler, ambition seared in presidential glory, wouldn’t declare, awestruck, “Cease my beating heart: does such equally free cash flow still exist?” What imbecile, let alone Mr. High IQ, refuses capital “investments’ unknown in all of Christendom, if not capitalism-dom, if not world-dom?

How else can Trump answer the inevitable waves of massive negative advertising? Will Trump’s current hypnotism over a quarter of rightwing voters hold when competitors are few, and all loaded to the gills? What about the historic, Know-nothing ceiling that must be overcome? And Trump, knowing that fear-mongering is a transient lever, will need millions to keep his vanity campaign going. That’s his best ploy to be the only modern, major party nominee who’s never held high political or government office.

As an invented winner he basks in his own self-aggrandizement; as a loser, he gets more obstreperous (if possible) or bows out, declaring victory for having “changed history.” Yes, irate extremists throw early tantrums, to say, “we matter, too.” But tantrums, along with favorites, faded with unerring consistency in ’08 and ’12, especially for unelected, unelectable amateurs. How often do cowed Republicans not in the end accept establishment picks? Okay, one time the party got hornswoggled and took a radical gamble, namely Barry Goldwater in 1964. That turned out well. And Trump, hated by the establishment, is no Goldwater, a senator whose Republicanism was never in doubt.