Donald Trump is not a racist. Trump’s life operates consistently from a strong moral center. And there is no room in Trump’s moral center for racism.

Trump’s strong moral center has a name. It is called ethical egoism. “Ethical egoism” may look like an oxymoron. But, for ethics theorists at least, it’s a Real Thing. Check out descriptions in standard textbooks (for example, The Elements of Moral Philosophy by James Rachels and Stuart Rachels, chapter 5, “Ethical Egoism”) or in the online but highly reputable Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (article on “Egoism” (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/)). Rachels names Ayn Rand, better known for her novels than her philosophical writings, as a central proponent of ethical egoism (also, see (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ayn-rand/)).

Ethical egoism maintains that the right thing to do is: Do whatever is best for yourself. Look out out for Number One.

Ethical egoism elevates selfishness into virtue. That is its annoyance … and its genius. Donald Trump is spending his life doing everything he can to make himself wealthy and successful. He takes responsibility for his own life. He does not depend on taxpayer-funded government handouts. By all accounts he is very successful at being successful. He is fulfilling the American Dream.

Should not everyone take responsibility for one’s own life? Isn’t it wrong not to do the best you can for yourself?

Shouldn’t the United States be a country where everyone is encouraged, even expected, to do the very best one can for oneself? Who better to lead this nation than Donald Trump, a man whose own example shows the way?

But maybe Trump isn’t the consistent ethical egoist he seems to be. What about his advocacy for military veterans? He seems serious about wanting veterans to be well-treated, to have comprehensive medical care, for example. Why would he put effort into helping someone who isn’t himself? For an ethical egoist, such conduct is not only puzzling, it’s immoral.

Not so fast. There could be good ethical egoist reasons for supporting veterans. Someone has to ensure the nation’s security if Trump is going to be safe to pursue his American dream, so it’s good for him that there are people willing to put their lives on the line to protect his assets. Giving military people good treatment can only encourage more people to sacrifice themselves for him.

And, putting on a good show of supporting the military can help burnish Trump’s public image. So it’s all good.

Certainly, Trump’s disdain for John McCain fits the ethical egoist playbook. John McCain is a U.S. Senator and a decorated military veteran, a POW during the Vietnam war. Trump contributed money to some of his campaigns. But somewhere along the line, McCain disappointed Trump. Now Trump reviles McCain - publicly.

For an ethical egoist, the concept of integrity is clear when it’s a matter of political campaign contributions: I give you money, and you do what I want. Trump gave McCain money, and McCain didn’t do what Trump wanted. So in Trump’s eyes, McCain is a dealbreaker. He is dishonest and disloyal. He has no integrity.

McCain, for his part, may have accepted Trump’s contributions with the thought that Trump respected his judgment, liked his vision for America, and believed his leadership would be good for the country. In the moral considerations of an ethical egoist, however, this kind of thinking is naive, hopelessly romantic. Trump gave McCain money so that McCain would do good things for Trump. Pure and simple. (See (https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-17/donald-trump-john-mccain-was-very-disloyal-to-me-) - sorry, this link leads to a brief glimpse of the title, then a paywall.

There’s the rub, for those who believe Trump would work hard to make the United States a place where everybody who tries to take responsibility for one’s own life can succeed. If Trump is a consistent ethical egoist, he will work hard to make the U.S. a place where Donald Trump can succeed. If your success helps Trump’s success, good for you. If your success gets in Trump’s way, watch out.

Racism doesn’t fit into Trump’s thoughts, or actions, because there is no basis in ethical egoism to show respect for any person, except for one criterion: Does this person benefit my interests? For Donald Trump, the question is: Can I do a deal with this person?

The Declaration of Independence affirms that all human beings have intrinsic value, all are worthy of respect: all are created equal and have unalienable rights endowed by their Creator. Racists believe that only human beings of their race have intrinsic value. Donald Trump, an ethical egoist, believes that there is only one human being who has intrinsic value: Donald Trump. The value of anyone and everyone else, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or age or marital, parental or veteran’s status (borrowed from: (http://www.smccme.edu/info/basic-info/nondiscrimination-policy.html#sthash.Y6woMtoE.dpuf)), depends on their usefulness to Donald Trump.

So, no, Donald Trump is not a racist.

Why is Donald Trump running for President? Does he want to fine tune the workings of the nation so that they produce even more material bounty for him? Perhaps.

Yet it might be that Trump has asked himself what may still be lacking in his life. And when he looks at veterans, he sees it. Veterans are among those people (nurses, police officers, social workers, firefighters, the list goes on) who dedicate their lives to benefit others, often putting their own lives at risk. They don’t get paid well. But they do earn respect.

Is a weakness emerging in Trump’s strong ethical egoist moral center? Does he begin to suspect that the respect accorded to veterans springs from the selflessness of their service?

Or, is respect simply the last gap to fill in his resumé, the crowning touch for his biography, his eulogy? If Ronald Reagan could make the leap from successful but lightly regarded entertainer and political buffoon to respected, even revered, President of the United States, then, by golly, so can Donald Trump.