In a nutshell, Trump is repeating an internet rumor that arose from a minor incident that received some publicity at the time. What did happen on Sept. 11, 2001, is that five young men from the Middle East were “clowning around and photographing themselves in front of the burning towers from the New Jersey waterfront.” But they weren’t Arabs or Muslims. They were Jews from Israel. And they were “making asses of themselves, as some young men are wont to do” while “perhaps not recognizing the import of what they were seeing” across the river.
You would think a presidential candidate would fact-check a story like that before going public with it, especially considering the potential consequences: Don’t be surprised if mosques get torched and Arab-Americans are attacked — even murdered — because of what Trump said.
We don’t need any more evidence that Donald Trump is unfit to be president, or to hold any other public office, down to and including city sewer commissioner. It’s tempting to say he should just shut up and go home. But if you’re a Democrat with a bent for strategy, you probably want him to be the GOP nominee, or even better, an independent candidate siphoning votes away from the GOP nominee. (Trump also reneged this weekend on his signed pledge not to run as an independent.)
But in any case, Trump should tone down his rhetoric, so innocent people don’t get hurt. Even his third wife is telling him to tone it down, but he apparently doesn’t listen to her. Is he stupid? No, just opportunistic, as he’s always been. He understands he has to stay in the news to stay on top in the polls, and he’s learned the best way of doing that is by being outrageous.
Throughout the campaign, he’s been loose lipped, inflammatory, and careless with facts — and hasn’t held himself above inciting base prejudices. The press eats it up, and gives him free publicity no amount of money could buy. He’s a slick salesman who knows how to work crowds and manipulate the media. What he’s doing is incredibly cynical, and he probably knows that; he just doesn’t care. He’s a ruthless competitor whose only ethic is winning at all costs. Don’t expect him to be anything else.
“Hey, I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down.”