I don’t think Donald Trump is running for President. But boy does he have the microphone to himself right now. He is setting the conversation — a conversation — whether one likes what he’s saying or not.

What’s most interesting about Trump, and I don’t mean this as criticism, is that he’s shameless. That is, you can’t quiet him with condemnation or superior argument. His mouth keeps going no matter what. He doesn’t so much deflect criticism as bowl you over in a torrent of verbiage. He out wills his questioners.

That may be crass, but it’s a genuine talent. In political campaigns, you’re either on the offense or the defense, and Donald Trump is always on the offense, even when he’s defending himself. It’s an extremely difficult thing to do;  few seasoned politicians can pull it off. But it is second nature to Trump; he’s been jousting for years as a hard-nosed businessman.

“When somebody challenges you, fight back. Be brutal, be tough,” he has been quoted saying.  (“You have to think anyway, so why not think big?” is another telling Trump line.)

Experience tells me that Trump eventually will end up on the defensive — the collective press corps is an overwhelming force — and that will end his experimental candidacy. But watching him blow through minor controversies like his poor primary voting record is instructive, as is his insistence on talking about taboo subjects on shows like “Good Morning America” and “The View.”  It shows enormous moxy.

In the meantime, Trump is exhilarating a portion of the electorate sick and tired of listening to political talking points. Trump says out loud what they wonder privately or share with friends on the next bar stool over — and he does it in plain speak.

Current US foreign policy is “asinine.” He “screwed” Gadhafi, and the Chinese “are looking to strip us of everything.” On Libya?  He’d “take their oil.” What do you think about that, huh?

It makes more than a few people want to cheer.

Trump speaks like a man with nothing to lose, because he has nothing to lose.  He has money and he can’t be shamed.  What do you do with someone like that?

Donald Trump is not running for President.  I’m sticking with that.  For now.