As a self proclaimed Democrat, I often reflect on the 2016 presidential election race and find myself asking: How did a misogynistic, racist, and ultimately unappealing candidate- I'm talking about none other than Donald Trump- make it this far in the race? A 2000 episode of the Simpson's- set in an America that had gone insane- predicted it correctly, that Donald Trump would not only run but that he would be very, very close to the presidency.
I disagree with Trump's beliefs about immigration and gender, amongst a breadth of other topics. But I must admit, that Donald Trump is a powerful speaker- he is loud, arrogant, and boastful, and that resonates with people. Trump preys off the fear of those who feel displaced by an increasingly diverse, multicultural society. He, in essence, speaks loudly for those who cannot speak for themselves. In our first period class, we even discussed how some believed that Trump employs methods similar to a hypnotist.
Recently, Democrats were reported to have given Hilary Clinton some satirical advice: "Let Trump Screw up." I pray that she does not take this advice. We have given Trump months now to "screw up," and even though we may perceive Trump's comments as inaccurate, racist, and misogynistic, he finds himself right with Hilary Clinton, in a close race for the presidency. Mrs. Clinton, poke holes in Trump's ideologies- about the effectiveness of building a wall, the absurdness of restricting Muslim movement into the US, his economic policies. But please, do not let Donald Trump dominate the conversation, do not let him bully you into silence and harness the spirit of the people.
Win it...
When Trump first announced that he wanted to "call for a total and complete shut down of Muslims entering the US," I thought this would cause for his removal from the running. Targeting a specific group of people is a bill of attainder, which is unconstitutional. However, this announcement from Trump was quite early in the race. It potentially made him even more popular. Trump is giving people a team to fight on. It's almost as if Trump is the captain of the "Anti-America" team. Not that Trump is unpatriotic, however, his nontraditional values, experience, and campaign, highlight the issues that formal politics have not really been addressing. I do not believe that all of these Americans that support Trump are racist and homophobic and misogynistic and all around xenophobic. I believe they want something to be different about the leadership in America because all they see is problems, and because Hillary Clinton appears to be similar to former politicians in her approach to solving these issues, Trump is the go-to (not-so) wild card alternative.
ReplyDeleteYes, no matter what controversy Trump seems to get himself into, it either benefits him or is casually brushed off. There seems to be an "anti-establishment" vibe in his persona, and therefore, any attacks by the media or other candidates are seen as desperate and shallow. The more the media attacks Trump, the more he grows. If Trump's growth is to be halted, Hillary must make herself seem more appealing to conservative voters than Trump, rather than trying to attack Trump.
ReplyDeleteDavid was right. Hillary should have tried to appeal to more moderate and conservative voters. I think Hillary could have done more campaigning in states like Wisconsin and Florida. Trump's rallys were also more successful. CNN would broadcast them since they are entertaining unlike Hillary's. Additionally, the media seemed to inadvertently favor by focusing on Hillary's scandals.
DeleteI agree with David because it seems to me that the media is always attacking Trump and viewers have become so accustomed to this that they ignore many of the controversial portrayals of him in the media. Hillary on the other hand seems to receive less negative attention so when the media covers scandals such as the emails, the people react much differently than they do towards Trump.
DeleteI agree with David's original claim on Trump having the ability to brush it off whatever negativity the media spouts about him. As we saw throughout the time of the election and up until when he won the presidency, people like him for a few reasons. 1) He is not afraid to sound politically correct and is able to speak his mind 2) He has simple answers for everything, so it is easy for people to remember what he says 3) He has sort of this alluring aura that draws people to him, probably because he appears energetic all the time. Overall, whatever the media says about him and whatever Trump says himself, his supporters will forever remain loyal like a pack of dogs, forever and always.
DeleteI agree with David as the elections voters are so polarized to one side or the other. His followers blindly believe all of his lives while Hillary supporters have been aware of Trump's misguided words throughout the election. All these lies can do is help Trump by catching the eye of a handful of swing voters and gaining their vote.
DeleteTrump's method of obtaining support from the voters relies on his ability to speak loudly and confidently. Regardless of whether the information Trump states is true or false, his methods of delivering messages have the ability to influence people. A large percentage of the population lacks the information necessary to determine whether statements being made by politicians are true or false. Many people either cannot or will not go out of their way to obtain this information. As a result, politicians who speak with the loudest and with the most confidence are favored. We can start to build a more favorable political scheme by working educate voters about the issues that effect them, which will allow them to make more effective political decisions, benefiting themselves and our nation as a whole in the process.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that Trump's rhetoric appeals to either the common citizen or big business-- surprisingly, all of whom make up almost half of the entire voting populace. A Washington Post analysis found that Trump's support skewed male, white, and poor, with nearly half of making less than $50,000 a year. In addition, those who do not have a college degree are more likely to have been affected by unemployment and the negative effects of globalization and economic turmoil. Thus, they are more likely to succumb to persuasive rhetoric and formulate their stances based on emotion and personal experience rather than fact or rationale. Also, internalized misogyny due to less education is a thing that may further polarize this group away from Hillary.
ReplyDeleteI am also a very liberal Democrat and am very aggravated at the state of this election. Since this was posted before the debate I can reflect a little bit on how that went over. Like you said, Trump is a "a misogynistic, racist, and ultimately unappealing candidate" and even more and this has made me so angry. It brought the question to me of if candidates should be forced to have political experience. For a long time I though this because it is so blatantly obvious that Trump has no experience because he is a businessman and Clinton is much more qualified than him for this position. However, when I brought this us up in class Mr.McDermott made a good point that many successful Presidents have had no political background. Now this made me think... if we can't make a rule that one must have political experience or some years spent working in DC, how can we ensure that the candidate is qualified enough to run our country? I still do not know the answer to this but all that I can hope for is that when these situations arise, the other candidates know what they're doing. In 2016, this is the case. Hillary is doing an amazing job at making herself an appealing candidate and she is being professional. Additionally, in the debates she knew what she was talking about and the same cannot be said for Trump. I can only hope that the citizens of American will realize before November 8th that Clinton is right person to be running our country.
ReplyDeletetake a look at this article... http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/09/29/dont-vote-for-donald-trump-editorial-board-editorials-debates/91295020/
Similarly, I am surprised that Donald Trump has made it this far in the presidential race, but I realize that disbelief comes from an area in which most people oppose Trump and his ideologies. In the Bay Area, it's sometimes hard to imagine what is going on in other parts of the country regarding how people view the presidential candidates. Currently, the parties are so polarized and the candidates' personalities are so different that it would be difficult now for anyone supporting Trump to switch and support Hillary. In addition, it makes it even harder that much of the polarization and split support lies in regional differences in the country, with certain groups of states only supporting one side. This leaves no room for Democrats in a Republican region and Republicans in Democratic regions to influence anyone around them. Since many people don't fact check, I think that this election has come to a race between personalities, with Trump being loud and energetic, and Hillary being reserved in her thoughts and graceful.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that coming from the Bay Area really alters our perspective. The liberal environment changes our idea of tolerance and how people in other places behave.
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ReplyDeleteThe main supporters of the Trump campaign are the blue collar, working class citizens. Due to their lower economic statuses, it seems that many blue collar Trump supporters believe that the government has betrayed them, making Trump's "anti-establishment vibe" more appealing. It seems that to his supporters, conforming to a normal politician's standard of political correctness would be to betray his constituents, as it would be seen as trying to fit into establishment. Thus, Trump's increasingly outrageous personality has worked in his favor, winning the votes of much of the blue collar demographic.
ReplyDeleteHowever, at this point in the race, the deciding factors are the moderate voters who are still undecided. Judging from recent polling in the aftermath of Trump's misogynistic comments about Alicia Machado, it seems that his extreme comments are actually working against him, losing him the majority of women's votes. To win the votes of the moderate voters, does Trump need to soften his rhetoric? If so, will softening his rhetoric lead to decreased support in his more extreme rightist supporters?
Im still shocked that Trump was somehow able to win over the presidency and become the President elect. Because the polls indicated that Hillary would win by a landslide, clearly there was a disconnect. I think that the silent majority acted in favor of Trump. Additionally I think that those who were unsure of who to vote for, and voted for third party candidates also costed Hilary the election. And finally, I believe that during the polls, some people were to embarrassed to admit they voted for Trump. The fact that someone is embarrassed to admit who they want to vote for is a red flag. If you're embarrassed of your potential president, then he should not be president. Because of these three major things, the US elected Trump as our president elect, making me concerned for minority groups, immigrants, and women.
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