Back in 1999 and 2000, Donald Trump had high-minded objections to Pat Buchanan because “he’s a Hitler-lover. I guess he’s an anti-Semite. He doesn’t like the blacks, he doesn’t like the gays.” This week, Trump’s campaign sent out a press release bragging about a column Buchanan wrote praising Trump and supporting his presidential run.
So what changed? How do you get to “hey, he likes me!” from:
… he’s a Hitler-lover. I guess he’s an anti-Semite. He doesn’t like the blacks, he doesn’t like the gays
It’s simple. Back when Trump had such a problem with Buchanan, they were both considering a run for president on the Reform Party ticket. When Trump criticized Buchanan for liking Hitler and not liking “the blacks” or “the gays,” he went on to say:
… maybe he’ll get 4 or 5 percent of the vote and it’ll be a really staunch right wacko vote. I’m not even sure if it’s right. It’s just a wacko vote.
In other words: “I’m a better candidate than this guy because I’m more mainstream.” And then Barack Obama became president and Trump discovered the power of birtherism and appealing to the wacko racist vote, and suddenly he didn’t like the blacks so much, either. And if Buchanan likes Trump, then Trump likes Buchanan.
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