Perhaps the most curious stop on Sarah Palin's bus tour of historic East Coast sites will be Donald Trump's 45,000-square-foot Manhattan apartment Tuesday night. True, Trump is an American icon in some sense, though less for defending liberty than for hustling. Trump has a somewhat shaky grasp of conservative politics, so what could the two possibly talk about, except how to get the political press to obsess over you without holding elected office or actually declaring a candidacy?

The two 2012 flirts will meet in Trump Tower before getting dinner together at a low-key restaurant, ABC News's Michael Falcone reports, a bit of a departure from the trip so far. Palin has stopped by the National Archives, Gettysburg, Mount Vernon, the Liberty Bell, among others. She explained the journey on her blog at SarahPAC Tuesday in a post titled "Reminding Reporters, too, of America's Foundations":

It's interesting when (for the 100th time) reporters shout out, "Why are you traveling to historical sites? What are you trying to accomplish?" I repeat my answer, "It's so important for Americans to learn about our past so we can clearly see our way forward in challenging times; so, we’re bringing attention to our great nation's foundation." When that answer isn't what the reporters want to hear, we've asked them if they've ever visited these sites like the National Archives, Gettysburg, etc. When they confirm that they haven't, it’s good to say, "Well, there you go. You’ll learn a lot about America today."

True, Trump can teach us all about America, though maybe somewhat different lessons than a dude like Thomas Jefferson. Like how to be the Tea Party presidential flavor of the month.

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Elspeth Reeve