Do you want more Trump? Do you?

Because this is how you get more Trump.

In 2015, I was eating a hotel breakfast of powdered eggs and meatless sausage, and I felt seriously ill — and not from the breakfast. It was the realization that CNN had chosen their favorite from the too-wide field of Republican contenders, and it was Donald Trump. They handed him an open microphone and watched the ratings spike, little caring what damage might be done to the American political system in the process.

I recall my feelings of horror when I saw no less a paper than the New York Times select him with a ringing anti-endorsement that couldn’t have been better designed to appeal to the vast waves of Republican voters. As the campaign season dragged on, and self-centered Republican candidates kept refusing to consolidate their opposition, my steadily mounting sense of doom kept increasing. Eventually, the incessant free media coverage of Donald Trump’s campaign catapulted him into the Oval Office while saving him hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary ad buys — a fact the Grey Lady herself apologized for — alas, too late.

Because they couldn’t stop covering him, we had four years of Donald Trump.

Right now, Congress is repeating that error, and doing so in grand style. While anti-Trump Republicans are getting shellacked in primaries across the country, from North Carolina to Arizona and back, a committee that’s half lame ducks rails against the man’s undeniable malfeasance during his last days in office, an event that took place on national television a year and a half ago and that’s rarely left the nightly news since. No minds will be changed by these hearings, no hearts swayed; all we’re going to see is more free press for a man unworthy of even the briefest sound bite.

Donald Trump did not get elected President in the first place due to his ability, his probity, his sterling reputation as a sane and reasonable statesman. His presidency came about as a giant “Fuck You!” to the Washington establishment, a group of people famously rated by Gallup as only slightly more trustworthy than used car salesmen (albeit within the margin of error). Right now, after one major economic crash and just before another, the only change in that sentiment is the demographic behind it, which now includes an awful lot of Democrats with fast-emptying 401-Ks.

The only person raking in the dough right now, believe it or not, is Donald Trump, whose fundraising emails have been generating megaclicks and donations ranging from $5 up to the thousands, because for some strange reason, Americans can’t seem to stop thinking about the man. The worst part of that, to my mind, is that his first campaign’s massive war chest was remarkable for not needing to be spent in the face of the huge –free– media storm.

Have we learned nothing, people?

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In case you missed my point back there: For the love of God, do not donate any money to Donald Trump or his campaign. It’s also pretty pointless to give it to the Democrats, who are about to get shellacked in the Midterms regardless of any contribution you could possibly afford. If you want to change the world with your money, we’ve prepared a list of charities that do great work and are desperate for more funds.

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