Campaign Action
Scott Baio is speaking at the Republican National Convention on Monday night. He’s part of the “Make America Safe Again” lineup for the evening. (You can insert your Charles in Charge joke here.) If you aren’t aware of how this expert on keeping us safe came to be a convention speaker, let Mr. Baio tell you:
“I was at a fundraiser for Mr. Trump the other night with my wife, and he invited me to speak at the convention—which was completely unexpected and out of left field. I mean, he had given a speech and he was walking out and I looked at him and I said, ‘Mr. Trump, Scott Baio…,’ and he said, ‘Oh my god!’ And he said to me, ‘Do you want to speak?’ and I said, ‘Here?’ and he goes, ‘No, no, at the convention!’ And I went, ‘Ugh… o…okay,’ and we went inside the house where the fundraiser was.”
Baio, who made a name for himself starring as ladies’ man Chachi on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi, and later as the title character on Charles in Charge, claimed he’ll be speaking Monday night at “around 8 o’clock,” adding, “I don’t know exactly what it is that I’m talkin’ about [at the convention].”
Of course he doesn't. But one thing Baio does know about—in his mind at least—is President Obama. In fact, it was Baio’s post-Orlando assessment of the president that probably convinced Trump that the actor is an expert on keeping America safe. “[Obama]’s dumb, he’s Muslim, or he’s a Muslim sympathizer,” Baio said, then added: “I don’t think he’s dumb.”
And that brings us to the slur for a lady part and Hillary Clinton mentioned in the title. Again, we’ll let Mr. Baio speak for himself:
Serious media types are asking whether—with the convention here and the full weight of the seriousness of officially earning his party’s nomination finally sinking in—Donnie Trump might finally grow up, control his every instinct, and act like a president.
The answer is two words: Scott Baio.
Ian Reifowitz is the author of Obama’s America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity (Potomac Books).
PS-I discussed Scott Baio, the Republican Convention, and why Trump is incapable of uniting his party on France 24 (English). The video of my interview appears below:
