Is President Trump Spiking Maiden Names? Speak With Authority Investigates!

    Let me just say up front: this is trivial.

    OK, now that that is out of the way: Remember that story about Donald Trump asking GOP Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel to drop her maiden name because "Rommey" bugs him? Via the Washington Post:

Before Ronna Romney McDaniel took over as Republican National Committee chairwoman earlier this year, President Trump had a request: Would she be willing to stop using her middle name publicly? 

Trump followed up by saying in a lighthearted way that McDaniel, the niece of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, could do what she wanted, according to two people familiar with the comments. But the change was soon plain for all to see. Though she had used her maiden name for years in Michigan, where her grandfather George W. Romney had been governor, McDaniel dropped “Romney” from most official party communications and has rarely used it since.

    Turns out that all the way through July 6, 2017, Ms. McDaniel had her name on the GOPChairwoman Twitter account as "Ronna RomneyMcDaniel":

    By July 12 (the next archived version available), the Romney was gone! Now it looks like this:

    I contacted the GOP about the change, but to my great surprise, I received no response. Nothing leaped out at me when perusing the news during the week of the change that would explain the timing.
    So what are we to make of this maiden name eliding (elidation?)? If Mike Huckabee goes off the Trump reservation, will @SarahHuckabee suddenly become SarahSanders? Bate your breath!

President-Elect Trump Selling 'Official' 45th President Merchandise

    Donald Trump will not be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States until January 20, 2017, but that isn't stopping the president-elect from selling "President of the United States of America - Trump / Pence" stickers, t-shirts and buttons. The presidential products have similar descriptions, but all of them say "Show your support for the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump."

    The "President of the United States" merchandise is distinct from the "president-elect" merchandise that the Trump Campaign also began selling post-election.  Notably the "President" t-shirt says "2016" even though Trump will not assume the title until next year.
    The Trump is also selling the "Official USA 45th Presidential Hat":

    Although the hat is marketed as the "Official USA 45th Presidential" hat, the funds will fund Trump's campaign, not the USA.
    The president-elect's transition team did not respond to a request for comment on Trump's apparent trading on the office of the president for financial gain.

Trump's New Clothes

    In the classic tale The Emperor's New Clothes, a little boy ends up being the only one to point out the emperor's embarrassing lack of attire. Presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the other hand, has virtually been shouting for months, "I'm buck naked, you fools!", and yet the crowd (at least 30-40% of poll respondents, anyway) continues to envision a beautiful Republican Presidential Robe of the Future. Could any serious candidate really say "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" and it actually be true?
    I've been arguing for months on Twitter that Trump doesn't want to win the Republican nomination, much less be president. Nothing else can account for the deliberately outrageous, self-destructive behavior he regularly engages in on the "campaign trail", a euphemism in Trump's mind for an extended screen test/contract negotiation. Trump is never happier than when he's on camera being Trump, and what better place to do that than on his own show?
    The Apprentice was a triumph for Trump, earning him a reported $213 million dollars over fourteen seasons (granted, Trump is the source of that figure.) Trump will turn seventy in June. Another TV show could carry him well into his eighties and secure the legendary status he desires (after all, what's left after being inducted into the WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment, Hall of Fame?)
    Who needs four (or eight) years of constant headaches, having someone else dictate your schedule and itinerary twenty-four hours a day? His tweeted reaction to his Iowa loss ("Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!") is his last ditch effort to sabotage his chances in New Hampshire and grease the skids for a graceful (?) exit from the race and back to the studio.
    The only thing Donald Trump wants less than being elected president of the United States would be the humiliation of being selected as vice president. Trump is a political Peter Pan - he loves being a candidate, but growing up into the adulthood of office-holder would be the equivalent of the-boy-who-wouldn't-grow-up wearing a business suit or punching a clock every day. This is not to say Trump is not disciplined. He's had his share of success and failure and has so far has ended up back on his feet. Sheer force of personality has taken him far. But president? Not even Trump himself wants to go that far.
    But a lucrative, long-term TV contract to showcase his larger-than-life ego and personality? Now you're talking. When the right one comes along, Trump wants nothing better than to call together his senior campaign staff, point his finger at them, and yell, "You're fired!"