In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s second place finish to Ted Cruz in Iowa, his Twitter feed was surprisingly silent for fifteen hours, a near eternity for the very vocal, Twitter-friendly billionaire.
When he did resume tweeting, he did it with typical aplomb, first with positive words about Iowa, and then with one tweet that generated a lot of attention and criticism. But what exactly did he mean?
At 11:39 AM, Feb. 2, he tweeted: “I don't believe I have been given any credit by the voters for self-funding my campaign, the only one. I will keep doing, but not worth it!”
A headline on the Daily Caller exclaimed, “Donald Trump Is Disappointed In You, Iowa: ‘Not Worth It!’”
A headline on the Washington Examiner stated, “Donald Trump, angry at voters, media, growls, 'It's not worth it'”
But what, exactly, did he mean? What is “not worth it”?
Only Donald Trump can answer that question, so, with the hope that we can get an answer, I’ll ask him for clarification, with the hope that even putting the questions on the table will be enlightening.
Mr. Trump, by “not worth it” do you mean that it’s not worth your money to run for president and lose? In that case, one might think this was more about you than about the people of America.
Do you mean that if people are not going to recognize your sacrificial efforts on their behalf, then they don’t deserve it, that you’re only willing to use some of your massive wealth to fund your campaign if people will give you credit for it?
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To put it more bluntly, sir, is this campaign about the people or about you? Are you running for president in order to serve our country and save us from disaster or are you doing it because you want to be president?
I would think that if your heart is to serve your country, a country that I’m sure you love deeply, then no sacrifice would be too great, and if you had to spend every dime you had to be elected and to prove that you could not be bought, it would be worth it.
I would also think that it would be worth it regardless of whether you got credit or not. Isn’t real virtue found in the doing of a good thing rather than in being acknowledged for it?
Someone very close to me – actually, my bride of almost 40 years, an incredibly perceptive and clear-headed woman – posted this on Facebook, and I believe her comments were right on.
She wrote, “What's shocking is that one would expect that his claims for loving this country and wanting to ‘Make America great again’ would overshadow any other feeling he might have. My expectation for a presidential candidate would be one who thinks that it certainly IS worth it, no matter how under-appreciated they might feel....it's all worth it, whatever the sacrifice may be, it's worth it. So many other candidates have been ridiculed, trashed, and humiliated, yet they keep on going without complaining about the American people. Trump’s statement shows TREMENDOUS weakness. Any individual, working hard towards a goal, who states, ‘it's not worth it’...I mean, really, why would I want to support any candidate with that attitude even if they keep on going? Running for the highest office in the land is not for the faint of heart.”
She then added, “The thing that struck me about this particular comment of his, was that it's the antithesis of strength (which is what he is touted for). It's the antithesis of a heart that is truly fighting for the cause. His dedication seems hollow, even if he is willing to fund his own campaign. A true leader and dedicated fighter for the cause is not looking for the accolades of men.”
And that brings us back to you, Mr. Trump.
What exactly did you mean when you said, “It’s not worth it”?
We can’t seem to find a good construction to put on it, especially one worthy of the potential president of the United States.
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