On Monday, real estate heir turned reality TV star turned 2016 GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump let Twitter ask him questions using the hashtag #AskTrump.
The result was, unsurprisingly, a swirling mass of angry citizens hammering Trump on his nativist rhetoric, comparing his hair to grocery store produce, and generally treating this pointless publicity stunt with all the seriousness it deserves. Since Trump is less a corporeal being than a concentrated mass of pure ego feeding solely on the constant attention of a cynical public, #AskTrump was an unqualified success.
But to be fair, there were a number of serious policy questions people asked about the single most important political issue of our day—Pokémon. What follows are the most insightful, probing, trenchant queries the former Celebrity Apprentice host received about Pokémon.
https://twitter.com/Rupees95/status/646039775133220864
#AskTrump How many Pokemon can you name? which is your favorite? what is your stance on Pokemon outside of the 151? are they #real or #fake?
— Web 95.0 (@Kirocuto) September 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/theSupremeRk9s/status/646016934857867268
#AskTrump do you feel that the introduction of mega evolutions to Pokemon cheapened the competitive Pokemon meta game??
— jenuwine (@jenuwinej) September 21, 2015
#AskTrump I know ur holding back pokemon go information WILL WE HAVE TO GO TO POKEMON CENTERS TO HEAL OUR POKEMON HOW WILL WE LEARN MOVES
— 💨 (@rachelrchard) September 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/fahads394/status/646034649832128516
https://twitter.com/ChristosDallas_/status/646179352187662337
#AskTrump What is your postgame route for Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs All Rangerdex?
— Sean (@Diamond44444444) September 21, 2015
#AskTrump is it true you beat the pokemon league with a single magikarp because you’re ” That Amazing”
— FFS Sean (@SeanChicagoMcM) September 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/actualdeadguy/status/646009571790553088
#AskTrump Who is your favorite Pokemon and what is your favorite type? You seem like a Chancey type of dude, imo
— Taking a shit still (@LakdifFlanchzed) September 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/CinemaSuicide/status/645988619535163392
#AskTrump if you had to live on $20 per day would you buy Nintendogs for DS OR a whole bunch of pokemon cards (asking for a friend)?
— paigebearpig (@dannyglover) September 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/Jenn_Abrams/status/645963651879333888
It doesn’t appear as if Trump has taken a public stance on evolution yet, so this hashtag campaign seems like a perfect time for him to clarify his position on whether he disputes the theory or if he has plans to eventually evolve his Squirtle into a Blastoise.
Trump currently leads the polls in the Republican field by a wide margin. He has already defeated the gym leaders in Wisconsin and Texas.
When it comes to the general election, however, Trump fares poorly in a hypothetical match-up against Democratic front-runners Team Rocket (pictured below).
Photo via Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0) | Remix by Fernando Alfonso III
