A Tenacious Resolute Under-estimated Messianic Persuader.

Tenacious, Resolute, Under-estimated, Messianic, Persuader

It has been a surprise. Yes, I was shocked when I woke up on Wednesday morning. My dad who had been following the polls quite closely - mostly through Nate Silver's podcast - had been under the impression that Clinton would win. He was wrong. Likewise, I was sceptical about Trump's prevalence in the media and believed that all the hype and attention wouldn't necessarily correlate with the share of votes he would receive. I was wrong.

In the year of Brexit, little is beyond the bounds of possibility. The anti-establishment mentality that I touched on in a previous post following the British referendum has become ever more widespread. A lot of the things Trump had said were music to the ears of those living in the so-called 'rust belt'. He'd bring life back into their towns, which have been economic vacuums for many years. There aren't just economic and social chasms between the cities of the developed world and slums of the third world, these exist within the borders of developed nations also. Does Trump have the answer to these problems, though?

I'm going to examine a few elements of his campaign:

Irony.

He's a proponent of Capitalism - the free market, pro-enterprise economic system in which the market dictates the prices. Trump traded property and built his empire off the back of this system. This is the very same system that has short-changed the people voting for him. The reason that the large manufacturing plant left their town. The reason that they lost their jobs. The reason that they struggle to afford their utility bills.

Trump is a multi-billionaire businessman. How does a voting population - many of whom are unemployed or in low-payed jobs - relate to such a man? Many people I have spoken to have raised this point. In Ireland, certain people term politicians from middle-class backgrounds who stand for the views of the least well off in society 'champagne socialists'. They don't believe that the well-off can legitimately stand up for and act in the best interests of the less well-off. Perhaps there's a tinge of cynicism in this belief, but can Trump represent people whose lives and daily struggles are so alien to his?

Career Politics.

Trump has no political background. Seemingly this is a facet that makes him a perfect alternative to Clinton, who is of the Capitol Hill variety. Maybe it got people out that wouldn't have voted usually. Many cite the right not to vote as a symbolic action to express one's disinterest or dissatisfaction with the political system. With Trump - who's demeanour, manner and rhetoric juxtaposes the current political system - the disenfranchised may have been incentivised to vote.

Moreover the fact that voters had the choice of a businessman on the ballot was enticing. I suppose the notion is that 'he'll be shrewd with his finances' and that 'he'll know how to bargain and persuade'. They're fair assumptions, and many in Ireland would happily vouch for a particular prominent businessman to be Taoiseach for the same reasons.

Television Politics.

This is the era of TV politics. You've got to stand out and be memorable in the media. It's a 2 year ludicrous marketing campaign really (showcasing both the best and worst of public relations). Trump was the brand and he used a strong, catchy slogan. The media, who in many cases liked to hate him, he probably saw as his best friends as they provided him with a platform and plenty of exposure to his views. It was quite a spectacle, particularly over the last 3 months.

We'll pick the flowers, not the weeds.

That's a quote from Michael Moore by the way, who was totally anti-Trump. Nonetheless I think it is a phrase that sums-up the reasoning of many of Trump's voters: "Yes, we'll will accept that he has made a few choice comments; racist, misogynist and offensive, but we'll forgive him for that because his main message is good. He's going to bring jobs and prosperity back to us". It's almost an attitude of selective hearing: Just deliberately disregard the things he said that you deplore, in favour of praising the things he said that you agreed with. Although it seems now that this man has been elected, voters get the full package. They'll just have to put up with all his views, even if they don't register with many of them.

What will Trump really do? Will he be the unstoppable force that many have predicted? Will he be powerless in convincing members of congress to pass his proposals? Will he be one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States? I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but we will soon see.

Though, has Donald Trump changed the realms of possibility in the political world? I certainly believe so.

Gavin.