Donald “I have a great relationship with the blacks” Trump is still threatening to run for president. Early in his lengthy interview on On The Record Wednesday night (December 21, 2011), Trump accused President Obama of being “delusional.” But if so, it must be contagious. Because Trump – the same guy whose questioning President Obama’s birth certificate was completely debunked, who suggested Obama is a racist who only got into Harvard via affirmative action and who accused African American voters of being racists for voting for Obama in such large numbers – actually seems to think he’d do well with the black vote. He also boasted that he had “by far the highest number” in a presidential poll when in fact, he came in a distant third to Obama and Mitt Romney.

The segment started with a clip of Republican Governor Chris Christie attacking Obama for campaigning instead of leading. Host Greta Van Susteren followed up on the attack by saying Trump would be there to answer the question, “Is President Obama in campaign mode?”

Nothing says “fair and balanced” like “just asking” a potential Obama opponent to comment on the attacks from another Obama foe.

In case Trump didn’t get the hint, Van Susteren kicked off the interview by noting he had “really zinged” the president in a tweet. She then asked, “Why the bruising Tweet?”

Trump got the message. He began a screed that included calling Obama “delusional” and complaining, “We’re being laughed at throughout the world.”

Well, who could blame anyone for laughing at us when a cable news network continues to take seriously the rantings of a discredited birther who still hasn’t revealed the results of that big Hawaii investigation he crowed was uncovering the truth of President Obama’s birth certificate?

Van Susteren continued the Fox News charade of treating Trump like a serious analyst or pundit by bringing up a recent Public Policy Polling poll that threw him into the mix. “Without making any sort of announcement at all,” Van Susteren said, “…You come in 19% of the vote in this poll. What do you think about that?” A graphic on the screen showed that Obama would get 45% and Mitt Romney 31%.

Trump said, “Well, I was honored that it was by far the highest number of all the people who were put into the poll.” Either Trump was unaware of the poll’s results or else he lied – without realizing that the contradictory truth was staring the rest of us in the face. Trump seemed to be referring to the results that found he did the best of the independent candidates. But he polled only two points ahead of Ron Paul.  

Nevertheless, Trump went on to brag that if he actually announced, “those numbers would double immediately.” Of course, he offered no proof and Van Susteren didn’t ask for any.

Van Susteren did question whether a third party candidate in 2012 wouldn’t hand Obama a win.

No, not if it was the right person, Trump said. He immediately intimated that he was that right person: “very high profile, somebody respected, somebody that built, perhaps, a great, great business which I have… I really think that a third party candidate could win.”

Then came the first jaw dropper. “I think in my case, I’d take a lot of votes from Obama.”

Van Susteren questioned what portion of the vote Trump would take. He answered, “Well, I think I’d get a great cross-section. I think I’d get Hispanic votes, frankly. I think and people smile when I say it, I think I’d do great with the African American vote. I think I’d do great with that. Now, I’m not gonna beat him with that vote but I would get a large number of African Americans. I really believe that.”

That was too much for the usually credulous Van Susteren. “Why? …How could you?” she asked.

Trump replied, “You just have to look at poll numbers. I do very well with African American voters.”

Van Susteren pointed out that African Americans tend to vote Democratic and that they’d likely support a black candidate. She asked,  “Why do you think that you could in any way pull those votes from the president?”

“I just have a great relationship with African Americans and African American voters and I think I’d do very well. Now, I’m not gonna beat him… I think I’d do very well with the African American vote,” Trump insisted. Then, harkening back to his previous accusation that African Americans voted for Obama out of racial prejudice, Trump called it “almost amazing” that Obama got the African American vote considering how “very little” Obama has done for the inner city.

You have to wonder how many times Trump is going to pull out this faux candidacy out of his bag of tricks. Even worse, how many times is Fox News going to go along for the ride and give him the cred to allow him to keep doing it?