Okay, I was wrong. Or maybe I was right and he changed his mind.

Sometime in the past six months Donald Trump has become a serious political candidate. It is becoming increasingly likely he will win the Republican presidential nomination, making him a 50-50 choice to become the next president of the United States.

How America got to that point will, I am sure, be the subject of several books in the months and years to come. If people can get over the shock to provide serious political analysis.

I had pegged the Trump candidacy as a practical joke being played by an egotist with more money than he can spend. I didn’t think he was serious but rather that he was just gathering video he could use in a reality television show. Being president is a serious job, requiring more than just bombast. All Trump was (and is) offering is bombast.

“Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore 3 (cropped)” by Gage Skidmore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Donald_Trump_by_Gage_Skidmore_3_(cropped).jpg#/media/File:Donald_Trump_by_Gage_Skidmore_3_(cropped).jpg

Apparently though people want bombast. They are tired of politicians who play it safe, who offer more of the same approach to public life that we have become used to for decades. Donald Trump, who has considerable experience as a showman, has gauged the public mood. He is giving the people what they want, and much to my surprise he is being very successful at it.

Maybe I was giving too much credit to American common sense. I thought Trump’s run would fade away when people had to actually put an X next to his name on the ballot. Instead, it appears that he is gaining popularity. I understand, yet remain appalled.

Now he has his first endorsement from someone within the Republican Party establishment as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has offered for his support, saying Trump is the only Republican who can beat Hillary Clinton (something I said here a couple of days ago). To me that is less an acknowledgement of Trump’s appeal than a statement about just how broken the American political system is.

Donald Trump is the new American Dream. His is no rags to riches story, but rather one of riches to rags – and then back to riches. Mind you, even when he was bankrupt he probably had more money than most Americans. He is twice divorced. He has no experience in elected office or public policy. He says he will make America great again, without giving specifics, and that seems to be enough.

I do wonder though about Trump as President. Would he find the job interesting? Challenging? I have not heard much from him in terms of coherent policy, but maybe, like Reagan, he will leave the thinking to other people. Or maybe if he wins he will quit because he’s bored with reality. I haven’t heard any speculation about who his running mate will be – maybe it is time to start asking that question.