You are using an outdated browser.
Please upgrade your browser
and improve your visit to our site.
Skip Navigation

Is Donald Trump Putting Us On?

Is Donald Trump's presidential candidacy a parody? Reports of Trumps speech at CPAC treated it as a purely straightforward political speech and toe-in-the-water for the Republican presidential nomination. National Journal has a story about Trump, who has changed his stance on the legality of abortion from pro to con, that includes this quote:

Donald Trump is describing himself as pro-life as he courts Republican support for a potential presidential bid – a complete reversal of his position on abortion during a previous flirtation with a White House run.
Trump could not be immediately reached, but his special counsel, Michael Cohen, said the celebrity businessman was entitled to change his mind.
People change their positions all the time, the way they change their wives,’’ said Cohen, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and the founder of a website called ShouldTrumpRun.com. “What you stood for 11 years ago you may not be standing for today. Maybe it was the birth of his five children or his grandchild that changed his mind.’’

Come on. That's a real quote from somebody who is backing this candidate? Surf on over to ShouldTrumpRun.com, and you find some unexceptional pleas for volunteers and Trump hagiography. But you also find this:

This is right on the edge of an actual campaign website and a parody campaign website. I'm usually pretty good at sniffing these things out but I honestly can't tell.