March 2, 2016

Every four years or so, the rumors begin anew. Seems I’m always running for office somewhere. One year, it was mayor of Baltimore. The next, governor of Maryland. People have even suggested I run for President.

I never have because, to be frank, politics bore me.

Allow me to clarify: I enjoy the political clout that my wealth and status provide me. I have the privilege of being in direct contact with elected officials at every level of government, and I understand that my words have weight with these individuals.

I have never made any attempt to hide my political leanings, nor have I tried to hide the ways in which I have tried to help those I support. I have nothing to hide; you can see what candidates I support and make your own determination from there.

But the actual process of politics never sat well with me.

However, I would be remiss if I continued to sit back in silence at what has unfolded as the nation prepares for the 2016 presidential race. Media members have asked my opinion regarding the fact that a fellow billionaire mogul has thrown his hat into the presidential ring, and to this point, I had no opinion – because, frankly, I thought it was a waste of time.

But the writing on the wall is becoming disturbingly clear, so now I must make my feelings known: under no circumstances are we, as a nation, to allow Donald Trump to be our next president. We should not even allow him to secure the Republican Party’s nomination, regardless of primary results or delegate totals.

If we get to November 2016 and my choices are Trump or a Democrat, I will cast my vote for a Democrat. I will hold my nose while I do so, but words cannot begin to describe how disastrous having that man in the White House would be.

This is not a matter of ideological purity; I suspect that on many policy fronts, he and I have a great deal in common (we don’t discuss politics on the golf course – mostly because while I’m in the fairway, he’s too busy rooting around in the bushes looking for his ball). But that is also true of all the other remaining Republican candidates (many of whom are also… not exactly inspiring).

To put it kindly, Trump is Sarah Palin with a budget and a hairpiece. He is spiteful, needlessly angry, has the thinnest skin of anyone I’ve ever met, and he is willing to say whatever will garner him the most attention – regardless of the nature of that attention. Trump will insult anyone if it means he gets even 30 seconds of airtime on CNN. In fact, I guarantee that once this letter becomes public, he will run to his good friend Bill O’Reilly and whine to the nation about how unfair I am.

Remember: this is a man who most recently had been little more than a reality TV host.

I understand the desire, on a visceral level, to elect someone who is not a career politician to the White House – but experience does matter, and I do not want someone without government experience to be the one receiving the dreaded “3 a.m. phone call.” Trump’s lack of executive experience should be enough to disqualify him, and yet it is seen as one of his strengths.

Consider my mind sufficiently boggled.

The White House is not the boardroom from The Apprentice. Running the United States of America is not like running a multi-billion dollar corporation (which, by the way, Trump’s ability to do that is even questionable… the man has filed for bankruptcy four times).

As a private citizen and as the CEO and Chairman of Gregor Enterprises, I cannot in good conscience allow this farce of a candidacy to continue unchecked. Trump has already inflicted untold damage to this country with his vitriol and his phony outrage, and if we somehow allow him in the White House for anything more than a tour, then this great nation will crumble even more. And if you thought we were a laughing stock when Bush the Second was President, then just see what the rest of world thinks of us if Trump is sworn in.

I have faith that we, as a country, will make the right choice. But if we don’t… well, don’t say you weren’t warned.

David S. Gregor
Chairman & CEO, Gregor Enterprises

NOTE: David Gregor is a fictional character, having already been featured in J.D. Cunegan’s novels Bounty and Blood Ties.