NEW YORK: While the specter of a Donald Trump presidency may be terrifying to many Americans, the real estate developer and would-be Reform Party presidential candidate started to make some PR noise last week.
NEW YORK: While the specter of a Donald Trump presidency may be
terrifying to many Americans, the real estate developer and would-be
Reform Party presidential candidate started to make some PR noise last
week.
Trump has begun to work with political strategist Roger Stone (of
Washington, DC-based Ikon Public Affairs) and, despite not having
formally announced his candidacy, has reportedly been wooing Minnesota
governor Jesse Ventura’s webmaster Phil Madsen.
Madsen is said to have been offered the role of director of Internet
operations - an essential communications post, especially given the
online focus and grassroots leanings of Ross Perot’s Reform Party.
Madsen, described as highly skilled and unassuming, is regarded as a
rising star by many young webmasters.
His political leanings also seem a good match for the Trump camp.
’(Trump’s) politics do seem to be in the political center, in much the
same way that Ventura would describe himself as a fiscal conservative
and social liberal,’ Madsen said.
Madsen was inexperienced at building political web sites when he was
recruited by Ventura’s team. Start-up costs were less than dollars 200,
but the Internet became the backbone of his campaign, serving as the
fundamental vehicle for contacting volunteers, raising money and
refuting rumors.
Madsen, who is based in Minnesota, has yet to meet Trump, and freely
concedes that he has no idea how much of a role the Internet would play
in a Trump presidential campaign. He noted, however, that Trump could
easily afford a deluxe political site and campaign - provided that the
candidate is willing to write his own seven-figure checks.
Getting the Reform Party nomination will by no means be an easy
task.
Trump faces a challenge from the already declared Pat Buchanan, who
abandoned the Republican Party to seek the nomination.
Trump mirrors the party line on most issues, other than his advocacy of
tax cuts. But his spotlight-craving lifestyle - not to mention his
advocacy of Oprah Winfrey as a running mate - has proved rich fodder for
tabloid journalists.
