The Trump Effect
Looking at Trump speaking in Phoenix: his bombastic behaviour, his self-congratulation, his lying, misquoting himself to his own advantage, attacks on the press, showed how his base support wants to see him. They like his ignorance, his attacks on the press, his blatant lying, his dreadful speaking style, his hucksterism, his willingness to say anything that may be to his advantage. He is mixing business with his high office, taking far more time off than President Obama and bankrupting the Secret Service, even while he charges rental rates to the government staff that have to stay at his hotel. His supporters think he is powerful, when he is just a fool.
The concern I have is whether this will change American political speech and political approach going forward. The electorate is getting the person they wanted. Trump showed who he was and why he was so unsuitable from the start of his campaign until the end. Yet he was still voted in to the only office he had ever run for. He was no surprise. He did not run a campaign of intelligence and nuance, only to surprise everyone with his coarseness afterward. Rather, he was a repulsive moron from start to finish. His voters got what they wanted, and now the rest of us are paying the price.
How can American politicians ignore his success? Need one only act like a boor to be elected in this country: lie constantly, pander to the worst instincts of ignorant people whether educated or not, bully people, call for your opponents to be jailed or murdered, call on foreign countries to interfere in America’s electoral processes? It appears you should also refuse to release tax returns or your health records, because that information is no longer important for the most power political position in the world.
Trump has degraded the American polity with his campaign and even more so since he was elected. If he is the model of political success going forward, then heaven help this country: so materially strong, but so spiritually and morally weak.
