Want to Defeat Donald Trump? Emasculate him

Not long into his Indiana victory speech, Donald Trump said something outrageous (even for him). He claimed that if Hillary Clinton was a man, she wouldn’t get five percent of the vote. He constantly referred to her as playing an ambiguous “woman card” to advance in the Democratic primary.

The armchair political strategist in me reacted by thinking “what a bufoon, he’s already unpopular with women… why would he do something to further alienate them”? A recent CNN opinions survey found Clinton beating Trump 61% to 35% among registered women voters. This statement would surely deepen his problem with women voters. Surely this is a case of an undisciplined candidate who doesn’t know when to shut up?

But Trump is up to something deeper here. He is expanding his “resentment base” to include “masculinists.” What I mean are people who believe that men and masculine values (competition, brashness, strength and boasting) have been marginalized in society in favor of “feminizing” values (compassion, cooperation, civility, humility). According to one of his biographers, Trump has a visceral disdain for President Obama, someone he refers to as “weak.” This is a favorite term of Trumps’ characterizes his world view — the world can be broken down into manly “winners” and girly “losers.”

In the Republican primary, Trump laid a groundwork for mobilizing millions of predominantly White voters to feel they have been deprived of what’s theirs by a whole host of “others” — the Chinese, illegal immigrants, Muslims, etc. His recent statements about Hillary Clinton are an effort to add, not women, but a type of woman… a“feminist” who uses a “woman card” to advance in society rather than her innate strength and talent.

Of course, this claim against Clinton is preposterous, but that doesn’t matter. Many look at American society and see fewer men going to college as compared to women, an increase in the White male suicide rate and the replacement of “dirty jobs” that required physical strength with “service jobs” that do not carry the same level of dignity or respect. In their America, women like Clinton have stacked the deck against them by diminishing their masculinity.

Personally, I think this approach is a losing proposition. There are too many people in an increasingly multicultural America who want to live in a more open, inclusive and tolerant society. But what if enough people in predominantly rural and rust belt states resonate with a “man’s man” who will “kick ass in the White House? It is conceivable that Trump could use this message to eek out electoral college wins in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin and thereby win the presidency.

How do you push back against Trump’s boorishness? Emasculate him. Attack the very thing he is offering the electorate — a tough guy who will bring back “manly” values. If I were the Clinton campaign, I’d use my extensive network of surrogates to refer to him as a “spray-tan metrosexual” who preens in front of the mirror for hours. Highlight his famous germ-phobia to reinforce the idea that he is a reclusive priss. Talk about how he incites violence at rallies but has an army of bodyguards around to fight his battles for him. Bring up his draft deferments during Vietnam to show he’s a “chicken hawk.” And definitely keep bringing up the “small hands.”

In other words, Trump needs to be “swift-boated” like Democratic candidate for president John Kerry was in 2004. In that election, John Kerry was accused by a group of Vietnam Vets of lying to get his purple heart in Vietnam. The inference that he lied was enough to take his biggest strength (war hero) and turn it into a weakness (liar).

Calling Trump crazy or a “loose cannon,” like Clinton did on CNN this week doesn’t strike at the reason why large numbers of voters are supporting him. They want a loose cannon. They don’t want a “phony tough guy.” It’s up to the Clinton campaign to plant that seed in voters minds.