The only thing that  surprises me about Donald Trump’s proposal barring Muslims from entering this country is that he waited  almost five full days after the massacre in San Bernardino to call for it.

I would have thought he’d be screaming about locking the gates to all Muslims last Wednesday, when the  massacre was first reported.

Then again, yesterday was the 74th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. What better day for a TV huckster to go xenophobic than the one that ultimately led our country to place Japanese Americans in domestic  internment camps.

Where most of us saw heartbreaking tragedy in San Bernardino, Donald Trump saw a booster shot for his poll numbers.

“Make America Hate Again.”

I wish I could claim  credit for that line, but I saw it floating atop a Web post.

The unvarnished truth about Trump is that he has hijacked the Republican presidential campaign in much the same way ISIS has commandeered politics in the Middle East.

Face it, The Donald is a kind of jihadist with a bad hairdo, his own jet, custom suits and monogrammed ties. If you don’t believe me, ask Jeb Bush, or Carly Fiorina, or John Kasich, or Chris Christie, or maybe even that space-shot Ben Carson.

Like the rest of us, they have listened to Trump top one nutty or loathsome statement with another. And they have stopped wondering if the latest bit of craziness would sink him. On the contrary, his latest outrage will likely boost his numbers yet again.

In the wake of his  endless stream of insults, outrageous boasts and facts that barely rise to the level of dubious, “traditional”  Republican candidates stand helpless and hostage, just like more established orders in the Middle East have been paralyzed by the skillful anarchy of ISIS.

As ISIS has managed to use social media to brainwash the disaffected and the disillusioned here and overseas, Trump has used his soap box to co-opt old, white and angry voters who have been waiting for  someone to speak off the top of his strange head in a simple language they can understand.

“I’m gonna bomb the bleep out of ’em.”

“We’re gonna be winning so much, you’ll get tired of winning …”

“I’m tellin’ ya, we’re gonna be fantastic … amazing.”

But I can’t really moan and groan about Trump without noting that for my business, the media, Trump has been a drug that guarantees a cheap high.

We have shamefully chased the “good copy” and “good video,” even as we know he is bringing out the worst in all of us.

Peter Gelzinis

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