Don't mock Trump for declaring himself a 'war president'
by Larry Beinhart It is easy to mock Trump for declaring himself a "wartime president. But he is an idiot savant of politics. The day Trump announced that he was running for president marked the beginning of a golden age of comedy. Since then, he has made a fortune for countless US comedians and talk-show hosts. His hair alone is an icon of ridiculousness. But he often seems to have the last laugh. Trump launched his presidential campaign by riding down a golden escalator, surrounded by out-of-work TV extras paid to cheer him. That alone should have demolished his candidacy, no matter what he said. But it worked for him. After the Republicans lost to Barack Obama for a second time in 2012, they concluded that they had to expand their franchise, make their tent significantly bigger, in particular, by cultivating Latino voters. That was one of the reasons that Jeb Bush, with his Mexican-American wife, was originally co