Is Donald Trump Trying to Ruin Republican Chances for the White House?
What’s the deal with The Donald? The billionaire and would-be Republican presidential candidate has stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy lately. Many people say that he is not really interested in the presidency at all, but rather he is just a self-absorbed publicity hound who will do anything to keep himself and his business empire in the media spotlight he so obviously adores. Yet others have speculated that Trump is secretly sympathetic to the Democratic Party and is trying to undermine Republican chances in the election. From his previous flirtations with Democrats to his adamant birtherism to his threat of a last-ditch independent run, 
many Republicans are suspicious of Trump’s true intentions. Moreover, his 180-degree turns on taxes, abortion, and health care make even notorious flip-flopper Mitt Romney look consistent. Could Trump be stirring up trouble just to suck oxygen away from other potential Republican candidates?
There is no doubt that Trump has changed his mind on a number of hot-button issues over the years. He has switched his voter affiliation from Republican to Independent to Democrat and back to Republican. He told Larry King in 1999 that he was in favor of universal health care, but now decries Obamacare as “unconstitutional.” He has given money to Republicans but also to Democrats reviled by conservatives and the Tea Party, people like Ted Kennedy, Anthony Weiner, Charlie Rangel, Harry Reid, John Kerry, and Joe Biden. Trump says he is pro-life, but in 1999 he told Fox News, “I’m totally pro-choice.” Though he professes to be anti-tax now, in 1999 he suggested a one-time 14.25 percent tax on the wealthiest Americans to erase the national debt. All of these zigzags make some exasperated Republicans and amused Democrats wonder if he is secretly working for the Democratic Party as a plant.
And then there is the birtherism. If Trump secretly wants to torpedo Republican chances for the White House in 2012, there is no better issue to dwell upon. Trump has become the loudest and most insistent advocate for the widely debunked conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and therefore does not have a proper birth certificate or, if he does, it harbors some secret the president does not want revealed like “he’s a Muslim.” Though the birther issue appeals to the extreme right and could theoretically help – or at least not hurt – in the Republican primary, it is widely considered to be an anathema for the independent voters any Republican nominee would need to win over in the general election. Even famed Bush strategist Karl Rove said on Fox News that Trump was “smarter than this” and “a joke candidate.”
Finally, if he doesn’t win the Republican nomination, Trump has said he would consider a run as an independent. That scenario is particularly worrisome to Republicans, as it could potentially siphon off crucial votes, splitting the party and handing the president a second term.
So, what is The Donald up to? Only time will tell…
