The Donald not an uber-tipper after all

Yesterday we reported that Donald Trump, the king of the comb-over, tipped an L.A. waiter ten grand. However, this turned out to be a fabrication speculated to have been planted by the restaurant. Trump told the New York Post, "This was done by the stupid restaurant to get publicity... It's not my signature." This doesn't mean Trump isn't a good tipper, though.

What I found interesting is our readers' passion about The Donald. As you can see from our reader comments, he has a lot of friends, and a lot of readers that revile him. Half of you thought his reported largesse was in character, half wrote it off as a publicity stunt to stroke his ego.

Reggie Jackson, when playing for the Yankees, reveled in controversy, calling himself "the straw that stirs the drink." What I thought was an innocuous story drew over a million page views and 800 comments, showing that Trump is very much such a straw. From now on, I'll have a lot more respect for his ability to shape public opinion.

If you're a waiter and The Donald is seated in your area, I'd give him constant attention. He may just surprise you by justifying the original story. The gesture would be positively Trumpish.