EDITORIAL

Donald Trump doesn't serve comfort food

Editorial board
The Republic | azcentral.com
Real estate mogul Donald Trump announces his bid for the presidency June 16.
  • People pay attention to Trump because a politician saying what he or she really thinks is a like a tall%2C cool glass of water
  • A shadow of the Trump phenomenon can be seen on the Democratic side with Sen. Bernie Sanders
  • Those who like Sanders' frankness and Trump's brashness are unlikely to sit down for a meal together. But if they did%2C they wouldn't be ordering comfort food

Consider the Trump phenomenon. It offers a lesson that could make the 2016 election more interesting.

Really.

Most politicians are like Stouffer's lasagna: prepackaged comfort food.

There may be enormous policy differences between the Democrats and Republicans, but when it comes to campaigning they follow similar rules.

Don't take chances. Play to the base. Stay on script. Act sincere.

Boring. Predictable. Artificial.

Then there's Donald Trump.

He fills the outrageous void and gets attention doing so.

He'll be in the Valley Saturday as a guest of the Maricopa County Republican Party, sharing a stage with fellow showman Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. You can bet they'll draw a crowd.

ROBERTS: Is this the GOP's outreach to Latinos?

MONTINI: Rapists, dealers on Trump's payroll? No, craftsmen

Maybe they'll talk about the disappearing-reappearing ink used to sign President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Silly? You bet. But Arpaio and Trump have an interest quotient other candidates envy. Why?

The superficial explanation is easy: Love 'em or or hate 'em, at least they're entertaining.

They keep the conversation at a level of sophistry that anyone can follow. They're not speaking to political news junkies. They speak to people who have a nagging feeling something's wrong. People who have little time or energy to dig deeply into the details.

Blame the Mexican immigrants? Sure. It's not original. But it works.

Trump takes this to a higher art form, a la Andy Warhol. The popular culture is his medium.

His speeches are the verbal equivalent of his hairdo: an unapologetic attempt to cover up what's missing with pure bombast and bluster.

But it's oddly authentic, which is why his shtick resonates.

The bad-boy billionaire's outrageous comments spawned Donald piñatas in Mexico. But he's polling second to Republican front-runner Jeb Bush, a competitor whose Latina wife's immigration status was questioned in a tweet Trump shared, then deleted.

But he insists he'll win the Latino vote in the general election. Chutzpah? He's got plenty.

The pundits — those sages who parse the polls and make book on politics — say he won't last. Lady Liberty heaves a sigh of relief.

(Nobody thought Evan Mecham would become governor of Arizona, either.)

With Trump, the more interesting discussion is about why he gets any traction at all.

You have to move beyond the superficial to find a lesson other politicians, and the electorate, might find beneficial.

People pay attention to Trump because it is so unusual to hear something unscripted. In the world of politics, the idea that someone says what he or she really thinks is like a tall, cool glass of water. Refreshing as heck.

Imagine if the rest of the candidates put down the poll results and started saying what they really believe. Talk about an interesting election. People might even vote.

A shadow of the Trump phenomenon can be seen on the Democratic side with Sen. Bernie Sanders. Calling yourself a socialist is a political no-no in the land of capitalism. But Sanders brings an honesty to his call for bigger government. His sincerity appeals to disaffected liberals as surely as Trump's plays with uneasy conservatives.

Bernie Sanders is in the 2016 race for president.

Pundits continue to dismiss Sanders as his popularity grows, but Hillary Clinton's campaign calls him "a force."

Those who like Sanders' frankness and Trump's brashness are unlikely to sit down for a meal together.

But if they did, they wouldn't be ordering comfort food.