I have been heartened by the effort to get the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to retract its invitation to Donald Trump, who is inexplicably scheduled to drive the pace car at this year’s Indy 500. Granted that the invitation was extended before Trump’s most recent (successful) effort to embarrass himself, it was still baffling. Trump is one of those increasingly numerous figures known for being known, rather than for any contribution to society. (Granted, he is entertaining in much the same way a car wreck is entertaining, but I doubt that analogy was what the folks at the Speedway had in mind.)
Trump is the perfect “Ugly American,” a symbol of everything most of us teach our children NOT to be: pompous, uninformed, narcissistic, tasteless and erratic. If he has redeeming characteristics, I’ve missed them.
I hope the Speedway officials take the “dump Trump” movement seriously. Otherwise, this year’s “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will be remembered as a different kind of spectacle.
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