With Trump and his supporters, stupid is as stupid does

The world is laughing at us. This image of Donald J. Trump is from cartoonist Marian Kamensky of Vienna, Austria (Marian Kamensky Cartoons).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's no surprise Governor Christie gave reporters the silent treatment when they wanted to question him about wacko Donald J. Trump's vulgar boasts about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women.

"Christie was the first of Trump's former primary rivals to endorse him," and he's assembling "a potential White House staff" for the GOP presidential nominee, The Record reports on Page 1 today.

And even though Christie was passed over as Trump's running mate, he probably hopes he'll be the next attorney general of the United States.

Yet the Woodland Park daily continues to ignore the seven other New Jersey newspapers that called on Christie to resign after his Trump endorsement. 

Meanwhile, businessman Phil Murphy, the leading Democratic candidate for governor in 2017, is calling on Christie to withdraw his endorsement and quit as Trump's transition chairman.

"To remain with Trump now," Murphy said of Christie, "is nothing less than a tacit endorsement of his disgusting misogyny," according to NJ.com.

Vulgar language

Christie himself has repeatedly used vulgar language, according to testimony on Wednesday at the Bridgegate trial in Newark federal court.

"Who the fuck do you think you are calling me 'a fat fuck?' I'm the fucking Governor of this state," Christie told Freeholder John P. Curley.

"If you're not in Keansburg tomorrow, standing behind me on the podium, I will fucking destroy you. I will have a robo call sent out to every Republican before Election Day telling them not to vote for you."

Today, Columnist Mike Kelly coyly calls the F-bombs a "revelation about Christie's self-definition" (O-1), causing thousands of readers to roll their eyes and throw his column into the recycling bin. 

Plus, it's hard to understand why the Kelly column about Trump on A-10 today, as well as the Margulies cartoon in Opinion, aren't condemning the billionaire's vulgar bragging about his sexual conquests.

Ken Zisa

No jury or judge has ever said former Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa was not guilty of official misconduct or insurance fraud -- the two 2012 convictions on which he was to serve a 5-year prison sentence.

Still, an editorial today claims Hackensack is obligated to pay Zisa nearly $3 million in back pay, legal fees and other compensation after the recent dismissal of the last criminal charge against him (O-2).

"The fallout from Zisa's tenure as chef likely contributed to the election" of Mayor John Labrosse and his slate of reformers in 2013 (The Record's editorial calls them "ticket mates").

The Record still hasn't reported that Zisa and other members of the family's political dynasty are attempting a political comeback under the banner of Team Hackensack.

They will likely try to take back the City Council in May's municipal election.

Trump, Zisa

Supporters of Trump and the Zisas have one thing in common: 

They are as stupid as the GOP's choice for president.

That could be seen in last April's Hackensack school election, when a small minority of the city's 20,000 registered voters elected two members of the Zisa-backed slate, and approved a school budget of more than $100 million (bigger than the city's own).

Even though school taxes make up 44% of the property tax bill for homeowners, Record Staff Writer John Seasly didn't write a word about the campaign of nine candidates on three slates who were seeking three board vacancies.

And the Zisas managed to freeze out the fourth-highest vote-getter, educator Lancelot Powell, and get their third candidate appointed to a sudden vacancy on the nine-member board.

Profiles in death

Unlike many newspapers, The Record does few profiles of prominent local residents, unless they are actors, singers or celebrities.

This weekend, Staff Writer Jay Levin profiled two North Jersey residents -- on the occasion of their deaths.

"In 1949, William Watt flew a DC-3 from San Francisco to New York on automatic pilot and landed in the record books," Levin wrote on Saturday's Local front.

"It was the first coast-to-coast hands-free flight."

"Two decades later, the World War II aviator helped change how corporate bigwigs travel by co-founding a business-jet leasing service based at Teterboro Airport."

Today's L-1 carries another profile from Levin, the local obituary writer:

"With his good looks and winning smile, Jim Noorigian was made for the movies.

"Alas, his 1933 Dodge got more screen time than he did."

"In semi-retirement ... Mr. Noorigian started taking his [vintage] cars to movie and television shoots in the metropolitan area."