Hmmm, is Donald Trump tapping into a simmering discontent that is deeper and wider than anyone realizes?
Confession: I do not pay much attention to U.S. politics. Truthfully, politicians in general, north or south of the border, leave a bad taste in my mouth. I stay in touch with Canadian politics enough to be an informed citizen. However, I consciously tune out what happens on the political scene in the U.S. in the interests of safeguarding my sanity.
But it is impossible to be unaware of the unsettling situation that is unfolding in the U.S. presidential primaries. I am referring, of course, to the rising political star of The Donald. Few people considered him a credible candidate at the outset. The prevailing opinion was that he was merely an outrageous sideshow to the main act. Clearly, that was a serious mistake.
The Republican establishment is in panic mode now that Trump has emerged as the early leader among their candidates – winning 10 states out of a total of 15 primaries (as of the writing of this post) and amassing 124 more delegates than his nearest rival Ted Cruz. Against all odds, his crude, inflammatory style is gaining traction and making him the front runner.
In crisis management mode, the Republicans activated Milt Romney to try and burst the Trump balloon. Romney came out with all guns blazing in a speech where he lambasted Trump as lacking the temperament to be president. Unfortunately, that proved to be another misstep. All they accomplished was to give Trump another opportunity to fire his own well-oiled canon.
On the Democrat front, Hilary Clinton is surging to the forefront. No doubt her supporters are tickled to death at the idea of a Clinton / Trump presidential race – convinced it would be a slam dunk for Clinton. But perhaps they should be worried. Trump thrives on being the outsider.
The burning question is how a shoot-from-the-hip, down-in-the-mud maverick can be winning the hearts and souls of a significant chunk of Americans. Conventional wisdom suggests that he should be shooting himself in the foot each time he spews another fundamentalist, and sometimes extremist, conservative opinion. But instead he keeps gaining more traction.
What does this tell us about U.S. politics? Perhaps the message is that many Americans are disillusioned by politicians in general. So much so that they are willing to risk throwing their support behind a wild card because he at least can be trusted to really believe what he is saying. It may be more his transparency than his platform that is winning him supporters.
And we all tend to forget that Trump is, as he describes himself, “the very definition of the American success story”. Like him or hate him, you cannot dispute the fact that he is an enormously successful businessman. There is a reason he has 7 million social media followers. He knows how to play the game as well as anyone and better than most.
Donald Trump is the ultimate dark horse candidate and is also – if you will pardon the mixed metaphor – playing the better the devil you know card in masterful fashion.
Many refuse to believe that Trump could actually land in the Oval Office. But we had better pay attention to the reality he is exposing concerning how disillusioned voters have become about the integrity of politicians. If you are still in denial, I have two words for you: Rob Ford.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: Democrat · Donald Trump · Hilary Clinton · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Republican · Rob Ford · Ted Cruz · U.S. presidential primariesNo Comments