Comparisons between Trump, Chávez flawed
Donald Trump haters were fist-bumping in South Florida last week after the PGA hauled a major pro golf tournament out of the Trump National resort in Doral to Mexico — the country that’s had more rhetorical sand kicked in its face by presidential candidate Trump than any other.
Sure, Donald’s golf grief feels like poetic justice. But if you’re betting it’ll put a dent in his hardy poll numbers, think again. If anything, it’ll rally his rabid fans. It’ll confirm their conspiracy theories about foreign evil and the effete U.S. establishment they want Trump to blow up.
Trump’s Teflon, in fact, seems reminiscent of another iconoclastic demagogue, the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, whose poll numbers shot up like Maracaibo oil gushers whenever imperialista Washington gave him a shove.
That’s one reason it’s become quite media-fashionable lately to liken The Donald’s rise to Hurricane Hugo’s.
But the comparisons are a little too fashionable, actually — and facile if not flawed.
To read the remainder of this column, go to:
http://wlrn.org/post/trump-ch-vez-comparisons-are-fashionable-theyre-also-flawed
Tim Padgett is WLRN’s Americas editor.
This story was originally published June 5, 2016 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Comparisons between Trump, Chávez flawed."