Read On: Not to mention him again, but ...

It’s become nearly impossible to write about Donald Trump and his unfathomably successful presidential campaign without striking the same flabbergasted tone that’s been tossed around pretty much daily. But here goes:

I am a member of the same media that has served to create this escalating nightmare. And here I am writing about him, again, which is positively the fuel that feeds his candidacy, rather like a malignant tumor and its blood supply. We in the press have traded the money/attention/access that writing about Trump generate to bring him mass credibility through sheer ubiquity.

MORE: Read previous columns from Ray Richmond >>

While I earn no financial compensation from writing this column, the same can’t be said for those in TV and radio news and much of the print journalism and online information worlds.

Because Trump represents such a pervasive tabloid train wreck, his name and say-anything quotes and filter-free soundbites unfortunately entice eyeballs, eardrums, ratings and readership.

It’s a deal the media has figuratively made with the devil. And it has now grown into a ravenous monster that’s consuming itself.

Let me try, as ridiculous as this sounds, to remove politics from the equation for just a moment. I well understand that most Republicans are going to support Trump because he is poised to be their party’s standard-bearer, much as Democrats are primed to back Hillary Clinton.

But as I said, let’s forget that for now. Let’s concentrate on Donald Trump the person rather than Donald Trump the presumptive nominee.

Here are the things we have learned about him over the past 10 months or so:

He is a proud misogynist who degrades even those women in his employ.

He has xenophobic tendencies that justify mass deportations, demonizing Muslims and Mexicans and building unbuildable walls to keep the world out.

He tells blizzards of lies — lie, deny, repeat, over and over — and when caught will lash out to blame those who exposed them.

His default position is that the end justifies the means no matter the level of cruelty or who gets hurt in the process.

He is perfectly willing to incite violence when it serves his purposes.

He preys on the vulnerable and foolish, elevating anti-intellectual demagoguery to an art form.

He attacks sitting federal judges who fail to bow to his will in lawsuits, simultaneously calling out their ethnicity because that’s what he does.

He disparages the media — both individually and collectively — when the Fourth Estate dares question his unsubstantiated claims.

He tosses out statements that have no credibility as fact and will deny having said them when challenged.

He has no stated use for essentials, such as diplomacy, compassion, compromise, government and the rule of law.

He is, by most any measure, an unsavory human being who believes the guidelines of conventional society apply to all but him.

Again forgetting the fact this is the likely presidential nominee for the Republican Party, is this a man with whom you would want to be friends? That you would trust? That you would seek out for a business relationship? That you would want for a neighbor? That you might feel relaxed were you to see him speaking alone to your adult daughter? That you would feel comfortable associating with on any level?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say “unlikely” to all.

Now, let’s return to the subject at hand. The fact that a man like this is now being taken seriously as the next “Leader of the Free World” speaks to the fact we would champion as our president someone whom we’d feel mortified to sit beside at a dinner table.

Of course, I’m sure there will be people who read the above and scream, “Oh yeah? Well, I could say the same about Mrs. Clinton.” And my answer would be: No, you can’t. You can say that she has likeability challenges, and clearly poor email server judgment, and perhaps a certain amount of privilege borne of hubris. She is far from an ideal candidate. But her negatives fall along traditional lines.

The comparative truth is that there has never in political annals been a man running for higher office as uncouth, boastful, bullying, ill-mannered, unrestrained, arrogant, swaggering, audacious and overbearing as Trump – much less one who gained traction. This is not opinion but fact.

Isn’t someone who runs for president supposed to be held to a higher standard, rather than no standards at all? Where does character come in? How about morals, integrity, scruples, ethics and grace? Our chief executive should be a person of wisdom, refinement and restraint, not an autocratic steamroller.

I genuinely wonder how those who are excited by Trump’s candidacy defend backing this kind of a man to be in charge of the United States of America.

--

RAY RICHMOND has covered Hollywood and the entertainment business since 1984. He can be reached via email at ray@rayrichco.com and Twitter at @MeGoodWriter.