It’s not unheard of for politicians to sound insincere when they discuss their oppoinents, but Donald Trump takes some kind of prize for doing it often having never run for office before.
In last night’s GOP debate, he called Ben Carson one of the finest men he’s known despite having recently criticized him as “pathological.” Then came this question about Ted Cruz:
Dana Bash, CNN: Mr. Trump, just this weekend you said Senator Cruz is not qualified to be president because he doesn’t have the right temperament and acted like a maniac when he arrived in the Senate. But last month you said you were open to naming Senator Cruz as your running mate.
TRUMP: I did.
BASH: So why would you be willing to put somebody who’s a maniac one heartbeat away from the presidency?
TRUMP: Let me just say that I have gotten to know him over the last three or four days. He has a wonderful temperament.
TRUMP: He’s just fine. Don’t worry about it.
Hmmm. Of course, perhaps Trump’s answer was just a complete joke. (He and Cruz have not been together since Sunday). But even in politics, shifting from outright condemnation to the warm embrace of an opponent in a matter of days just shows how improvised and insincere the Trump political operation is. Can we take seriously ANYTHING that he says about others and, if so, for how long?