Trump is Tommy DeVeto

Every time I watch Donald Trump give a speech, I’ve been reminded of someone, and trying to figure out who has been driving a little bit crazy. Was it Frank Pantengeli in Godfather 2? Was it one of the Three Stooges?

Then Trump appeared to throw a baby out of one of his speeches. It was astonishing:

Then, later, he claims he didn’t actually throw the baby out. It was a joke, he said, and a Washington Post reporter sitting nearby backed him up. Okay, fine. It didn’t play like a joke. Or if it did, it played like a mean one. What kind of man makes a joke about throwing a baby out of a rally. Well, a man like Donald Trump. But then something clicked in place. Another scene of a guy making a joke that no one could tell was a joke. Was he joking? Or was he serious? No one really knew, and that had life-or-death implications because this guy, well, he has impulse-control issues. Watch below (NSFW language).

And there it was. That association I’ve been searching for all year: Trump reminds me of Joe Pesci, playing Tommy DeVeto, the unhinged mobster who could be baited into violence at the drop of a hat.

This, like the revelation that Trump was only joking about the baby, is not really comforting.