Hold on to that coffee — Trump up in polls

In case you haven’t noticed, Donald Trump’s national approval rating jumped to 44 percent in a recent Gallup poll, an all-time high. While this news may cause jubilation for some and others to become apoplectic, it also warrants an explanation, and I’m happy to oblige.

Fortunately, I can accomplish this without being too political. My theory is that his rise in popularity has very little to do with the economy, North Korea, immigration or any other hot-button issues. Instead, it comes down to the concept that more and more people are becoming accustomed and accepting of his personality.

Not all people, of course. Those of you who just spit coffee onto your laps while reading those words are clearly never going to join the 44 percent, even if he cured cancer and forged world peace. Count me in that group as well. As I’ve made clear many times, I find his narcissistic personality abhorrent and a disgrace to the once-noble office of the president.

However, I also find him entertaining, at least some of the time.

There goes the coffee again. As you’re cleaning up, hear me out. I think the entertainment factor is driving up his numbers, because the shock and disgust over what he says and does is becoming acceptable to more and more people. Consequently, those millions who were somewhere in the middle politically, but put off by Trump’s demeanor, are softening.

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to argue that he is not occasionally entertaining. At least three or four times each week, someone will say to me, often while chuckling, “Can you believe what Trump said (or did) today?” In the early days of his presidency, or during the campaign, I was appalled. I’m still appalled, but now it’s with a wry resignation.

I watch the evening news and I’m disappointed if he didn’t say something wacky the entire day. I listen to the radio or read the paper, waiting to hear or read something that will have me shaking my head in wonderment.

The word entertainment is defined as “providing amusement or enjoyment.” I think Donald Trump can be inadvertently amusing, even though I’ve never seen any semblance of a sense of humor from him. He is an entertainer, not a politician, and I’m sad to say, like many people, I’m beginning to accept him for who he is.

That is why, in my opinion, his approval rating is going up. Not from me, because I’ll never approve, but by others who have come to accept his shenanigans as nothing more than entertainment. His personality no longer sways their thinking, and they’re judging him solely on the issues that they agree on.

Trump can call Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man” and “short and fat,” and then turn around and say that they “fell in love” during their meeting in Singapore. He can call Ted Cruz “Lying Ted” during the campaign and then turn around and call him “Beautiful Ted” and “Texas Ted” as he endorses him for re-election.

That’s very entertaining. Almost every day there is something to shake your head and sometimes sadly chuckle about. There is no doubt that his comments and actions are tearing the country apart, and by no means am I condoning his demeanor. I’m just saying many voters are accepting him for the showman that he is and ignoring the damage he is causing.

Impeachment, which would tear the country apart, is becoming less and less of an option. I think it’s pretty clear that Trump will be our president at least until the next election. I once thought his chances of being re-elected in 2020 were slim to none. Now, I’m not so sure.

Outrageousness is slowly but surely becoming the norm. Trump can call Stormy Daniels “Horseface” and barely cause a wrinkle. More and more people are just saying, “Oh, that Donald — what a character.”

That’s exactly what he wants, and it seems to be working. We all wondered, especially in the beginning, why his seasoned advisers couldn’t prevent him from tweeting ridiculous comments and lies at all hours of the night. Now we know why — the more he does it, the more it defines who he is.

So he’ll keep on fabricating the truth, and he’ll keep on tweeting and saying ridiculous and outrageous comments, and more and more people will forgive the fact that he’s destroyed the respect and dignity of the office of president of the United States.

I won’t forgive him, especially for his incendiary comments that generate so much polarization, but I’m slowly beginning to understand him. He’s an entertainer, and always will be.

Those millions who were somewhere in the middle politically, but put off by Trump’s demeanor, are softening.

Nick Hoppe’s column appears Tuesdays in Datebook. Email: NickHoppe61@gmail.com