You Can't Make This Stuff Up, Week 2

“You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” is threatening to become a regular weekly feature, and with the Trump campaign, even that frequency might not be enough.

Trump’s “veepstakes” have been the topic of the week, as Trump puts his own unique stamp on the traditional “first real decision” a nominee makes.  From one perspective, Trump has gone about this rather sanely….he developed a list of roughly ten candidates and went from there.  So what if they consisted of, essentially, any credible GOP official who had not already run far, far away from consideration.

But things have spun out of control from there and the landing is looking just as rocky.  

·         One of the ten, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, got things going when he decided that he was taking himself out of contention.  In departing, he managed to get off this unforgettable line, referring to, yes, the candidate’s daughter:  "His best running mate, by the way, would be Ivanka.  I know that wouldn't pass muster probably but I don't know if I've met a more composed, brilliant, beautiful-in-every-way person.”

·         As the list narrowed, Trump put the remaining contenders through something that resembled an episode of “The Apprentice.”  Various would-be-veeps hit the road in a Trump-stump-audition of chemistry and attack-doggedness.  As the tour wound down, Trump clarified where he stood in memorable fashion:  “"I am narrowing it down. I mean, I’m at three, potentially four.  But in my own mind, I probably am thinking about two."

·         When TrumpWorld got word that Trump was leaning toward Chris Christie, Ivanka and the gang jumped on a plane to talk Dad out of this scheme, and plug Pence for VPOTUS-to-be.  Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner had a particular motive for deep-sixing Christie – the former New Jersey prosecutor had put Kushner’s own dad in jail a decade ago.

·         After asking Mike Pence to join the ticket, Trump delayed the announcement due to the Nice massacre, finally announcing it was Pence this morning.  But the madness did not quite end.  Dana Bash of CNN has tweeted the following:  “Scoop: @realDonaldTrump was so unsure about @mike_pence that around midnight last night he asked top aides if he could get out of it.” 

At least we have to conclude that Trump did a better job with the veepstakes than John McCain.  But Trump was not the only source of madness this week:

·         The Notorious RBG, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, lived up to her nickname by deciding to join in on the fun and cut loose with a riff on Trump, to wit: "He is a faker.  He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego…How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that."  She even joked about moving to New Zealand rather than live under a Trump presidency.  After the ensuing uproar, RBG apologized and is now hoping that Trump versus Clinton does not follow Bush v Gore and force her to contemplate a recusal.

·         And finally, who needs Trump if we still have none other than George W. Bush back on the scene?  Bush joined Obama for a tribute honoring the Dallas policeman who were slain last week.  But he got a little carried away rocking out to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”  If you have not seen it, check it out:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMSHV_BpdhQ

You can’t make this stuff up.