The start of the presidential debates is fast approaching. It has just been announced that Lester Holt, anchor of the NBC Nightly News, will moderate the first debate scheduled for September 26.

But did you know the first presidential forum will be held on September 7?

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump will appear at a Commander-in-Chief forum to discuss national security, military affairs and veterans’ issues in a primetime event sponsored by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

The presidential candidates will appear back-to-back in the one-hour event hosted by Matt Lauer and aired by NBC and MSNBC. The two candidates will answer questions from NBC News and an audience that includes military veterans and active service members.

The Trump camp is worried about this major challenge for their candidate. After all, who knows more about national security and foreign affairs than former secretary of state Clinton?

But Trump supporters are taking heart in the fact that George W. Bush was not the sharpest foreign-policy wonk as a candidate but that didn’t stop him from making it to the White House.

In a 1999 interview with WHDH-TV in Boston, an NBC affiliate, Bush was given a surprise quiz on foreign affairs. He was asked to name the leaders of four world hot spots: Chechnya, Taiwan, India and Pakistan.

Bush scored a failing grade of 25%, giving only the right answer for Taiwan.

But the most embarrassing response to a foreign policy question came when Bush was asked to comment on the turmoil in the Middle East. When asked to give his opinion on Beirut, Bush replied, “I know he was a great all-around player, but I always thought Joltin’ Joe DeMaggio was the better the Yankee.”

With the bar set so low by George W., could Trump do any worse?

Photo | dailynewsdig.com

Political analysts are puzzled. Why would the man who thinks Mexico is the land of criminals, drug dealers and rapists pay a visit to that country? Yes, Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto invited Trump to share a margarita or two but what could Trump gain from such a trip?

To astute Trump loyalists, the answer to why Trump headed south of the border is simple. He is there to personally pick up a check from Señor Peña Nieto to build the great border between the two nations.

“There was no way Trump was going to trust Mexico to just mail a check that big,” said Trump supporter, Lester Bailey. “Trump is too smart to let the Mexicans just say the check is in the mail.”

A large number of Trump backers agree with Mr. Bailey.

Of course Mexicans laugh at the notion that they will be footing the bill for any wall built between the neighboring countries.

“I’m not going to pay for that f**king wall! He should pay for it. He’s got the money,” said Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico.

In a recent interview with Mexican newspaper Excelsior, Peña Nieto insisted there was “no scenario” in which Mexico would pay for the border wall Trump has proposed — a statement echoed by the country’s finance minister.

Mexicans, it is fair to say, detest Trump.

A new presidential poll taken in the world’s top 25 nations shows enormous support for Democrat Hillary Clinton, with the biggest gap between Clinton and Republican Donald Trump in Mexico, where she leads 88 percent to 1 percent.

Trump supporters may be disappointed if he does not come back with a cheque grande but no doubt will believe any excuse Trump offers them.

“Oh, he’ll get the check alright,” reasoned Bailey. “Perhaps on the next trip when he brings some of his greasy New York ‘friends’.”

Photo | marcoreport.com

After much head-scratching, Hillary Clinton has finally found a man who can impersonate her Republican opponent as she prepares for the upcoming presidential debates.

“It wasn’t easy coming up with someone who could mimic the reckless temperament and the hateful instincts and divisive instincts of Donald Trump,” Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook told CNN. But with about one month to go before the first presidential debate, the Clinton camp has struck gold. Who better to imitate the unpredictable Trump than the “Merchant of Venom” himself, Don Rickles?

When a reporter asked “Mr. Warmth” if he was up for this latest gig, Rickles snapped, “Get away from me you hockey puck.”

At 90, Rickles’ mind is still sharp as a tack.

“Let me tell you something, sonny,” Rickles scolded the reporter. “I was insulting the best of them long before you had your first taste of Farina.”

“But what do you really know about presidential politics?” asked the fearless reporter.

“I know more than Trump and look whose the candidate. It ain’t me,” replied Rickles.

“Have we had a guy running for president who knows less than Trump … about anything?” asked Rickles. “You know who would have made a great president? My old friend Frank Sinatra. Now there was one smart burnt calzone.”

Why the Clinton camp didn’t think of hiring Rickles from the get-go seems odd in retrospect.

When told Clinton’s debate prep stand-in would be Don Rickles, Donald Trump smiled and said, “Love Rickles. Now there’s one hell of a man. I grew up watching the guy. I idolized him. Is the old geezer still alive?”

Photo | nypost.com

Trump caused a major uproar earlier this week when he seemed to be backing off on one of his biggest campaign promises – the forced deportation of the approximately 11 illegal immigrants in the United States.

During a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Fox News host, Sean Hannity, asked Trump if he would change current parts of the law to accommodate law-abiding citizens or longtime residents who have raised children in the U.S.

“There could certainly be a softening because we’re not looking to hurt people,” Trump answered. “We want people — we have some great people in this country.”

But then two days later, in an interview with CNN’s Andersen Cooper, Trump appeared to deny any “softening.”

Reminded by Cooper of his comments to Hannity, Trump said, “I don’t think it’s a softening, I’ve had people say it’s a hardening, actually.”

Not since the great Lite Beer controversy of the 1970s (“Tastes Great … Less Filling”) has there been such heated debate on a topic of national interest.

In an effort to bring some clarity to the subject, a reporter asked Melania Trump to weigh in on the matter… Is it “softening” or “hardening?”

Too savvy to be tripped up on such a hot topic, Melania replied, “I don’t know. I don’t touch subject.”

Asked to comment on his confusing statements, Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, said, “ I am personally going to look into this.”

Perhaps the issue will become clearer in the coming days.

Looks like for now, we may all  just have to wait for Trump to reveal himself.

Photo | univision.com

Jimmy McMillan, the legendary Brooklyn, New York political activist is incensed. After hearing Donald Trump raised the Trump Tower rent he is charging his own political campaign by a whopping 500%, the founder of the Rent is Too Damn High Party could not contain himself.

“This is an outrage, a travesty, a bamboozling, a miscarriage of justice,” said the one time karate expert, Vietnam veteran, postal worker, stripper, private investigator and perennial candidate.

“It’s immoral and illegal, 500% increase? Man, the rent is too damn high!” said Mr. McMillan.

New filings with the Federal Election Commission found that the amount of rent Trump’s presidential campaign pays to Trump Tower Commercial LLC, the owner of the building that houses his campaign headquarters, has risen steadily since April.

A rent of $35,457 this April has increased to a staggering $169,758 this past July.

The dramatic increase in rent coincides with Trump’s new reliance on fund raising to pay campaign expenses. According to a Huffington Post review of FEC filings, Trump more than quadrupled the monthly rent his presidential campaign pays for its headquarters at Trump Tower to $169,758 in July, when he was raising funds from donors, compared with March, when he was self-funding his campaign. The rent jumped even though he was paying fewer staff in July than he did in March.

What Trump is doing may be shady but perfectly legal. Some are saying this is just another Trump scam to fleece his gullible supporters; just another way for Trump to profit from his own presidential campaign.

“If I was a donor, I’d want answers,” a Republican National Committee member told HuffPost on condition of anonymity. “If they don’t have any more staff, and they’re paying five times more? That’s the kind of stuff I’d read and try to make an (attack) ad out of it.”

When Mr. McMillan was informed Trump’s rent increase was legit, he still wasn’t having any of it.

“ We like rent increases to be in the 2-3% range. 500% is untenable, unconscionable, untoward, un-American and unholy!” said the man who had contemplated a presidential run of his own for 2016.

Photo | twitchy.com

Trump absolutely, categorically and unequivocally will not show his tax returns. Many political pundits are speculating the Trump camp has determined not releasing the returns will harm his campaign less than if he reveals the documents.

Here are the top 10 reasons why Donald Trump will not make public his tax returns:

1. They would confirm he is worth less than he claims. Many financial experts believe Trump’s stated net worth ($10 billion) is even more inflated than his ego.
2. They would show his close ties with Vladimir Putin. Apparently they are co-owners of a Russian dating site: ComradeMatch.com.
3. They would reveal his lack of business smarts. Trump is believed to have lost money from a large investment in a chain of Florida alligator petting zoos.
4. They would confirm he pays little, to no, taxes. It is rumored Trump pays less in taxes than his Mar-a-Lago cleaning lady, Inez Hernandez.
5. They would show multiple bank accounts in the Bahamas. Most of Trump’s cash is believed to be sheltered in a Bahamian repository, The Royal Trust M. E. Bank.
6. They would show little charitable giving. About the only confirmed largesse is to the RCGLVF (Retired Call Girls of Las Vegas Fund).
7. They would show embarrassing, and perhaps, illegal political contributions. Trump is said to be the largest personal donor to the Louie Gohmert Re-election Committee.
8. They would show questionable write-offs. It has long been rumored Trump deducts the cost of his “hair” maintenance.
9. They would show he is asset rich but income poor. Sources say Trump’s main income stream is his monthly Social Security check.
10. His longtime accountants, H & R Block, have advised him not to release his returns.

One can see how any one of the first nine reasons for Trump not releasing his returns could spell doom for the Republican presidential candidate.

Photo | forbesbusiness.com

Despite the animus between their parents, Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump have remained good friends. They recently met for lunch at the renowned Trump Tower Bar and Grill.

Ivanka: “Hey Chelse, glad you could make it. It’s been a while.”

Chelsea: “Always love coming to this place.”

Ivanka: “I’m having Chef Henri make us fabulous arugula salads with shrimp!”

Chelsea: “Ivanka, you know how we said we would always remain friends no matter happens in the presidential race? I have to be honest with you … I wish you could get your father to stop calling Mom, “Crooked Hillary.”

Ivanka: “Oh Chelse, you know my father isn’t being serious. He’s just being sarcastic! He’s having some fun. You know we Trumps are winners and we’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

Chelsea: “Well I don’t like it. Just like I don’t like him talking about “Second Amendment” people coming after Mom.”

Ivanka: “Chelsea, you’re being too sensitive. He’s just doing what he thinks he needs to do to stir up his base. Speaking of things that need to change, I would hope your mother stops calling my father a sexist, racist bigot.”

Chelsea: “Well …”

Ivanka: “Well what?”

Chelsea: “ She’s just saying what many people believe. You know members of his own party are calling him the same thing.”

Ivanka: “Well I don’t like it. My dad is the most tolerant, generous man I know.”

Chelsea: “ Of course you are going to feel that way. You’re his daughter.”

Ivanka: “So you think my dad is a sexist, racist bigot?”

Chelsea: “Well …”

Ivanka: “That’s it. I’ve had it. Our friendship is officially over. I’m leaving!”

Chelsea: ”But what about Chef Henri and the fabulous arugula salads?”

So ended the strained friendship between two powerful daughters of two powerful families. The two might not speak again until 2024 when they meet in the year’s first presidential debate.

Photo | hollywoodreporter.com

Too many people get stressed out by polling data.

Polls at this stage of the presidential election are just about useless. Some have Hillary up but a lot, some by a little. Some polls even have Trump in the lead.

It is best to heed the wise words of our nation’s 43rd president:

“Why do we care what the polls have to say? What do the Polish people know about American politics anyway!”

Photo | animationoptions.com

It is the proverbial “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Why are Trump supporters so devoted to him?

During the primary season, Trump boasted that support for his presidential campaign would not decline even if he shot someone in the middle of a crowded street.

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa, back in January.

Most political pundits at the time attributed the statement to that of an arrogant, self-absorbed, narcissist who had no chance of winning his party’s nomination for president. Well, you know how that whole primary thing worked out.

Of all the falsehoods to come out of Trump’s mouth, his boast about shooting someone accurately captured the loyalty level of his ardent followers.

In an effort to understand why Trump enthusiasts are so fiercely loyal to the reality TV star/billionaire, I interviewed one such supporter, Luke Mellencamp, a rancher in Brownsville, Texas.

“Sir, I know you are a devoted Trump supporter. But is there anything Donald Trump could do to make you change your mind about him?” I asked.

“No, I know he is a good man who wants to make America great again. No, there is nothing the liberal media could say that would make me stop supporting Mr.Trump,” declared the rancher.

“What if you learned he’s never paid any income taxes his entire life?” I asked.

“If he didn’t pay his taxes it’s because he knew the government would just waste the money,” said Mellencamp.

“What if he supplied one of our enemies, like Russia, with top-secret information?” I queried.

“No, he would only do that if it was part of his strategy to defeat them,” reasoned the rancher.

“What if he’s found guilty of defrauding thousands of low and middle-income people out of their hard earned money with his fake Trump University?” I tried.

“No. If they got nothing out of going to his college, they must not have been studying or paying attention,” replied the home-schooled country fellow.

I then asked the rancher a question I thought he might find a little more relatable.

“What if Trump were convicted of bestiality with one of your farm animals?” I asked.

“Well, that goes against the good book, you know. I … I … I’d have to think about that a little,” said Mellencamp.

Finally, I found something that seemed to upset the good, God-fearing Christian!

“No. On second thought, I would say the animal was probably asking for it,” offered the cattle rancher.

Man, talk about loyalty!

Photo |  (BRIAN SNYDER / Reuters)