I must say over the years (1988 thru 2012) when The Donald expressed his intent or desire to run for president of the US, I was skeptical. Generally, by the time I gave his running any thought, he had exited the race for whatever reason.

His initial announcement in 2015 did not seem to be any different and when he made the derogatory comments regarding illegal immigrants (you know the ones I mean), I assumed his days on the campaign trail would be numbered. Alas, I was wrong, but in good company.

Like most citizens of the world, I’ve been aware of Donald J. Trump for many decades. We are both baby boomers, but I’m not sure we have the same value systems or political opinions. I was aware of his exploits into business and entertainment and considered him a brash but savvy entrepreneur.

In the early days of his 2016 campaign, I thought his intent was to grab some attention, possibly shake up the GOP, and maybe even help Hillary Clinton in the process. As the months and primaries and rallies rolled by and the insults and bullying continued to roll out of his mouth, I became more perplexed.

Why anyone would want to run for, let alone be, president of the US, is beyond my ability to fathom. Let’s say my speculation runs toward the negative. But most of the individuals who try for the nomination have some idea what it means to be POTUS along with some relevant experience. This is not a suit that fits Donald Trump. And he is rather dang proud of that fact.

So what’s up? Is this New York billionaire serious? Does he think he has a clue about running the greatest country on earth? Do his supporters believe he would do a good job? Will he be the GOP candidate? Could he become president?

My mind reels.

Here’s my current take on this event. Trump entered the race to see what would happen.  He accidentally insulted lots of people, but nobody seemed to mind.  In fact, he became more and more popular. This made him very happy and fed his ego. Then he started doing well in the primaries and caucuses. It helped that his competition—all 16—was less than stellar. Slowly but surely, each of the other GOP candidates dropped by the wayside. By now he is totally engulfed by the power he holds and can’t wait to increase its reach.

But he’s in for a real shock. No matter what happens he’s a loser. If he wins in November, he’ll be president, but no one will care. The GOP Congress (assuming they hold both houses) will go into its standard “him against us” mode. Our allies will ignore or rebuff him.  It will not go well, he will be unhappy, and he will make more and more people pay for that unhappiness.

If he doesn’t win the election, he’ll have to rein in his ego. He won’t be able to get his job back on the Apprentice—that’s taken. An equally sad outcome for him and, thus, for others.

One thing for sure my Trump-pondering days are over. The only thing left to wonder about is how he’d be as our president. For me that is too terrifying to contemplate.