American politics is no longer about policies or principles, but rather entirely about narrative and affability.
First, the American people do not understand economics, foreign policy, trade, labor law, or our complicated tax, finance, and regulatory systems. Secondly, the American people do not approach their politicians with objectivity. It’s not what we think about a particular piece of legislation that matters, but rather how we feel about that legislation and our feelings are determined by the narratives surrounding a particular idea or topic.
Politicos horrified by the idea that either Hillary Clinton or Donald J. Trump will be the next President of the United States still seem astonished that the majority of Americans do not seem to feel the same way, despite the polls. The issues that matter most in this election are Hillary Clinton as the first female president, Donald Trump “making American great again”, and the economy.
Normally, it would be simple to suspect that Americans would vote for the first female president. Unfortunately for Hillary Clinton, she’ll be competing with a popular Reality TV star. Television fame can easily trump identity politics. After all, the average TV addict feels like they know Donald Trump and have a relationship with him. From entertainment wrestling to the Celebrity Apprentice, Americans have seen Donald Trump on television for years, making them laugh, cringe, smile, and cheer. Hillary Clinton, however, may be the most robotic and least affable politician in history. She’s horrible to watch on television. No one is entertained. In fact, she tends to make people feel awkward and uncomfortable and more likely to change the channel.
So, when I watch video clips of news anchors still talking about Hillary on the issues or Trump on the issues, I wonder if they haven’t missed the entire point of this election. It has nothing to do with the issues.
The American People are tired of their own modern economic malaise. The economy is still struggling to recover. Job opportunities are scarce. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing. Home values haven’t quite recovered. Americans no longer feel any sense of identity or pride in being Americans.
Donald Trump speaks to the anger, frustration, and impatience with an incompetent government, while speaking about America in a language that the average American can understand. America is great. He loves America. America first.
Hillary speaks to the liberal agenda and that’s it. Even she hasn’t figured out how much trouble she’s in come November.
Once these primaries are finished, the media will do everything in their power to write devastating narratives for Donald Trump. I don’t think it’ll work. In fact, the more they attack The Donald, the more the American People will support him. Trump understands narratives. If a judge rules against him, it’s because the judge is prejudiced in favor of Mexico and therefore must arbitrarily hate Trump over his strong wall comments. Now, we all know that’s not true, but the vast majority of the American people will buy it – and that’s all that matters.
The real nightmare for Hillary Clinton begins the moment Bernie Sanders is defeated. At that point, all eyes will be on Hillary Clinton all the time. The media will be devastated because Hillary Clinton is simply such awful television. To keep their ratings up they’ll have to keep talking about Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. Sure, they’ll be as mean and nasty as possible, but two things will occur. First, Trump saves billions of dollars in free publicity. Second, Hillary Clinton begins to seem irrelevant to the people, because she’s never on the tube.
Running for President is now about being good on television and I’ll put my money on a successful reality tv star than on the most-uncomfortable-in-her-own-skin Hillary Clinton.
