Presidential candidate Donald Trump is famous for the line on his reality show, The Apprentice — “you’re fired.” In the real world, that’s what he should say to the person or persons who suggested his visit to the New York’s 9/11 memorial this past Saturday.
There is certainly nothing wrong with anyone, especially a presidential candidate wooing New York voters, visiting this hallowed ground — a place so meaningful to Americans and especially New Yorkers. Dedicated almost two years ago, on May 14, 2014, the monument is the personification of the resilience of the city’s residents — something that Trump has pointed out on more than one occasion.
The problem with Trump’s Saturday sojourn is that this was his first visit — as in never been there before. In the almost two years since the dedication, the man who would “make America great again” couldn’t get around to visiting this national treasure — one located right in his own back yard?
In another act of political ineptitude, Trump announced during his visit a donation to the memorial of $100,000. Questions have already arisen about the extent of his generosity. Considering the fact that plans for a memorial were in the making within days of the disaster and donations poured in from all over the world shortly thereafter, it’s pretty amazing that the billionaire New Yorker — who claims to have seen the disaster from his office window and lost friends in the tragedy — took until this past Saturday, on the eve of the New York presidential primary, to reach into his self-proclaimed deep pockets and make a contribution — reminding prospective voters and the world that he never coughed up a dime before and giving investigative reporters more reason to review his philanthropic history.
In both cases Trump brought attention to facts that would hardly have been apparent had he just kept his mouth shut, something that is usually pretty hard for him to do. Who would have known this was his first visit had he not announced it to the world? And as to the money, had he said nothing, it would probably have never come up.
There’s been lots of talk in this campaign about “New York values.” Based on my limited knowledge of New Yorkers, I suspect that for the most part they are some very savvy folks. They can pick out a phony pretty quickly — ask Ted Cruz who took the brunt of attacks from a New York audience last week. In these two acts of political grandstanding, Trump came across about as phony as a $3 bill.
Trump lives in New York. He’s not like the rest of us yokels who would have to get a cab, the subway or Uber to make a pilgrimage to the memorial when in the Big Apple. We’re talking about a man with a chauffeur-driven limousine. “Driver — take me to the 9/11 Memorial and pick me up in an hour.” And, as it relates to the donation, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a much publicized fundraising campaign. I guess Trump never got an invite to any of those big fundraisers for the memorial — which also gives rise to questions about his philanthropic history. Since he won’t release his tax returns, I guess we’ll never know.
In politics there are paid political advisors charged with the responsibility of keeping the candidate’s foot out of his or her mouth or making a politically suicidal misstep. In addition, most candidates have a circle of friends who, upon hearing of something that might not be the most advantageous act for the candidate, make hurried calls suggesting that the candidate rethink his or her plans. Wise politicians take heed. But whoever said Trump was wise?
The frightening aspect of this story is that maybe Trump did not rely on political advisors. Maybe he made the plans for the trip and the donation on his own. If such is the case, what can we expect of a President Trump? Clearly, the Oval Office is not a place for amateurs. It’s a place where decisions are thought out and possible collateral damage and negative spin are taken into consideration — down to the smallest details. If Saturday’s grandstanding was an example of what we will see in a Trump presidency, look out America.
Trump’s visit to the 9/11 memorial was too little too late. If he hadn’t visited the memorial in two years since its opening or made a contribution in the 15 years since the fundraising began, the wiser political move might have been to sit this visit out and make an anonymous contribution — neither of which acts would have been in Trump’s style.
C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection and was recently appointed to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.