Trump at IMS: a public relations disaster

Some of us saw this coming from 2.5 miles away.

When the rumor first emerged that Donald Trump was going to be asked to drive the pace car for the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500, there was initially some debate. One side argued that the choice flew in the face of tradition while the other touted the attention that someone of Trump’s stature would draw, and the two sides were represented about equally.

Now, it’s become evident that Trump draws attention, all right. But none of it in any way works in IMS’s favor.
Since confirmation of Trump’s acceptance of IMS’s offer on April 5th, he’s been making headlines not only as a potential Republican candidate for the presidency in 2012 (which, presumably, is why IMS thought this was a good idea — although why the track would want to appear to align with any political party is anyone’s guess). But, more importantly, he’s also been a very vocal proponent of the so-called birther movement that has attempted to invalidate Barack Obama’s presidency through claims that he was not born in the United States — claims that have been verified to be unjustified. Now that the birther movement has been proven to be baseless, Trump continues to cause trouble, stating that he is proud of himself for causing the certificate to be produced publicly and turning his attention to other accusations against Obama for which he also has no proof.

Unfortunately, where IMS is concerned, the damage has been done and there’s no possible way to come out ahead. If they retain Trump’s services, they appear to be backing his ridiculous claims and will anger a great many race fans who worry about the image his participation portrays. But if they let him go, Trump will mouth off about it in every venue he can find, and IMS will end up with egg on their faces and potentially alienate the segment of the fan base aligned with Trump’s beliefs.

This, friends, is why sporting organizations should never get involved in politics.

Were this mess up to me to resolve (and I’m very, very glad that it’s not), I’d be inclined to attempt to back out as gently as possible by playing the tradition card. It’s been stated over and over that fans feel the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 deserves some reverence for tradition. IMS could therefore tell Trump that they’ve been left with no choice but to defer to the wishes of the sport’s customers and have opted to put Rick Mears, Al Unser, and AJ Foyt in pace cars instead. Trump would still make a fuss about it, but at least IMS would have a decent excuse to fall back on if questioned that doesn’t appear to bring politics into the equation. It’s not a scot-free way to back out, but it’s about the best that can be hoped for at this stage.

The consensus appears to be that putting a high-profile celebrity in the pace car is a great idea in most years — it could help draw viewers who might not pay much attention otherwise. But many observers agree that this is not the year for risk-taking. IMS only has one shot at making the centennial year’s running the very best example of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing that it can be. And given the recent headlines out of New York, that very best example no longer includes Donald Trump.

IMS, please tell Donald, “you’re fired.”