The Havoc that Trump Wreaks — on His own party

George F. WIll – The Washington Post

Every sulfurous belch from the molten interior of the volcanic Trump phenomenon injures the chances of a Republican presidency. After Donald Trump finishes plastering a snarling face on conservatism, any Republican nominee will face a dauntingly steep climb to reach even the paltry numbers that doomed Mitt Romney….

Some supporters simply find Trump entertainingly naughty….

For conservatives, this is the dispiriting irony: The administrative state’s intrusiveness (e.g., its regulatory burdens), irrationalities (e.g., the tax code’s toll on economic growth), incompetence (Amtrak, ethanol, etc.) and illegality (we see you, IRS) may benefit the principal architect of thisstate, the Democratic Party. This is because the other party’s talented critics of the administrative state are being drowned out by Trump’s recent discovery that Americans understandably disgusted by government can be beguiled by a summons to Caesarism.

No Más Agresiones a Los Latinos

Ricky Martin – Univision

When did this character assume he could make comments that are racist, absurd, and above all incoherent and ignorant about us Latinos?

From the beginning his intention was transparent: basically tell barbarities and lies to remain relevant in the public opinion, for votes or simply to stay on the media’s radar.

Yesterday’s episode against journalist Jorge Ramos, one of the most beloved and respected Latinos in world media, has gotten to the point of enough is enough….

Xenophobia as a political strategy is the lowest you can go in search of political power.

Watch: Univision reporter thrown out of Trump press conference

Donald Trump Is Not a Populist. He’s the Voice of Aggrieved Privilege

Jeet Heer – New Republic

The British scholar Peter Wiles, in a much-quoted 1969 definition, encapsulated populism as the belief that “virtue resides in the simple people, who are the overwhelming majority, and in their collective traditions.”

Trump’s entire style, his gaudy bragging about his own wealth and achievements, is the opposite of the traditional populist celebration of ordinary humble people. Throughout Trump’s rhetoric runs the theme that wisdom is not to be found in ordinary people but in the leadership skills of Trump himself, who alone has the brains to squash the losers and make America great….

Far from being a defender of the little people against the elites, Trump plays to the anxiety of those who fear that their status is being challenged by people they regard as their social inferiors. That’s why the word “loser” is such a big part of his vocabulary.

Real estate magnate Donald Trump poses in front of one of three Sikorsky helicopters at Port Authority in New York on March 22, 1988. (AP)