The 'sinister plot' to derail Donald Trump's presidential ambitions

Donald Trump on Monday made his first appearance as a regular on the “Fox and Friends” cable news show and immediately said something really big – he’s worried about a “sinister plot” to derail his possible presidential campaign.

What is this nefarious scheme? It’s Oprah Winfrey’s professed desire to do a makeover of Mr. Trump’s physical appearance on one of her final talk shows before she goes off the air.

“She does want to give me a makeover, I don’t know if it’s exclusively hair, maybe it’s other things too,” said the Donald by phone to the Fox News show.

Where does the conspiracy enter in here, you ask? Well, think about it – Oprah’s a Democrat! Those people will stop at nothing.

“I’m worried about a sinister plot,” Trump continued “The plot is that Oprah supported Obama ... maybe she wants to give me a makeover so that I would not have even a minor chance of beating Obama.”

He was kidding, of course. If you’re Donald Trump, you have to have a thick skin about hair, and he was bantering things up pretty well there.

“I’ve had this hairstyle for a long time. I don’t know what I would look like with a crew cut,” he said.

If one appearance is any guide, it looks to us like this whole “Fox and Friends” gig will work out great for Trump. It was a phone-in, so he didn’t have to bother to limo over to a studio. He didn’t even have to get out of his PJs, as far as the audience could tell. Plus, he got to work in a nice long plug for his “Celebrity Apprentice” show, which airs on Sundays.

Is it a coincidence that he’s now a contributor to a news show on the morning after his reality show? Don’t be cynical – we’re sure it has nothing to do with that.

In other remarks, Trump denied that GOP operative Roger Stone is working for him, and noted that his appearances on the “O’Reilly Factor” last week were “probably the biggest shows [Bill O’Reilly] has done ... three fairly full nights of me.”

Perhaps you are wondering whether the Federal Election Commission will look askance at Fox providing Trump a regularly scheduled forum. Yes, Fox News has kicked other possible GOP presidential contenders off the air. (We’re talking about you, Newt Gingrich.) They don’t want to violate federal campaign laws.

So how can Trump still appear? Because he is not getting paid, that’s how. Technically he is not a contributor – he’s a news source.

Of course, if you’re a billionaire, you can afford to work for free.