Donald Trump first foray today into New Hampshire, image Western Journalism.com
From The Union Leader, Granite State: Donald Trump, potential 2012 GOP Presidential candidate, has two visits to the Nation’s first primary state: one today in Portsmouth, and one on May 11th at a Greater Nashua Chamber event. The stops today will include several businesses in Portsmouth to meet with locals, and although one shop has confirmed the visit with local media, the New Hampshire GOP noted that the schedule has not been published. Trump is expected to travel with heavy security and will make stops in Dover and Portsmouth. The shop owner that “leaked” the visit to local media, Maine-ly New Hampshire, has hosted candidates from both political parties over the years, and features products made in the Granite State. The fact that Trump is headed to New Hampshire willing to meet with “the locals” indicates just how serious he is regarding a bid for the presidency. It will be interesting to see how and if the U.S. media covers this first foray – if they intend to focus on the more controversial subjects that Trump brings to bear or if they will stray from the sensational and report on Trumps economic views, which are, obviously the businessman’s strong suit.
Trump, who in recent polls, from several different pollsters including Gallup, where he tied for first place with Mike Huckabee, indicate that he is, at the present time, viewed as a viable contender for the top slot. Although he has been compared by blogs and some in the media, to 1992 candidate, independent Ross Perot, since a report in a a Wall Street Journal article earlier in April, indicated that he might consider running as an independent if he did not win the nomination. However, since that report was released, Trump has since made statements that he would not do anything to jeopardize the chances of getting Obama out office, including a run as an independent.
Hollywood continues to weigh in, first comedian Jerry Seinfeld, then Charlie Sheen and Robert Di Nero offered their “take” on Trump as a “used car salesman” and “terrible person” (LA Times Blogs), which, one has to take with a grain of salt, even when Trump fires back and defends himself. The fact that the aforementioned, although talented in their fields, could use the “exposure”, as the media is sure to report, ad naseum that Trump is a “horrible person” for calling out members of the Hollywood crowd, it remains to be seen just how much weight, if any, these types of individuals carry – the first response is that they will of course, appeal to a fan base that is like-minded, and secondly, not unlike Tina Fey’s beef with Sarah Palin, can justify their own failures and low ratings and show cancellations (or lack of any job period), by blaming the politician’s or potential politician’s “followers”, thus giving them a few more minutes in the spotlight.
Trump, whose popularity, especially among Republican and Republican leaning independents, is based most likely on the fact that he is straight forward and says what the thinks, regardless of how not politically correct he is when making a certain statement. Frankly, it can be refreshing to hear someone lay it out, fearless of the consequences of speaking one’s own mind – it is especially appealing to those who might now be suffering from the nations economic malaise, who are ready to forgive a media faux pax such as asking for a birth certificate and or college thesis from the President, in exchange for business intellect and a chance that Trump might just right the ship and bring badly needed jobs into the country. One cannot imagine Trump for example, setting up a commission to study a problem that is causing $5.00 to $6.00 per gallon gasoline, (when as Sarah Palin recently noted, individual states have already done these studies), rather he would most likely tell OPEC where to go, while lifting the ban on oil drilling by U.S. companies in the U.S., and cutting the Federal Gas Tax until supply drove down the price of oil. That perceived reaction is fueling his popularity.
Back to the New Hampshire visit – not for nothing is this possibly one of the strongest tests for Trump as he goes into Mitt Romney’s back yard – it will of course, remain to be seen how many Massachusetts New Hampshire bound cars will be heading to Portsmouth today, not to beat the sales tax (of course that is a plus), but to possibly get to meet Trump and ask him a question or two? It is, after all, only an hour from Boston, 2 hours from Springfield, and about a half hour from the border town of Haverhill – a proverbial hop, skip and jump in terms of New England travelers. Judging from the Google queries for Maine-ly New Hampshire (or Maine-ly New England), one can bet that the coverage and or the crowds will bode well for New Hampshire businesses, as well as Trump. (As of 6:22 a.m. Wed. 4/27/11)
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