These days, we are inundated with political commentary from
all places – on the news, on social media, and even around the dinner
table. There’s lots of chatter about
Donald Trump and why he’s being successful. What makes Donald Trump so appealing to so many people? He has skillfully created himself as a brand
and applied it to the political process. On some level, he has taken what he knows about the basic instincts of
human nature and takes advantage of it to capture voters.
This branding focuses in two areas – our desire to win, and
our fears. He recognizes that people
believe in the concept of winners and losers, knowing that everyone rallies
around the winners and silently cheer when the perceived adversary loses. He repeatedly talks about how he is going to
make us a country of winners again.
He capitalizes on our fears – we will build a wall along our
Mexican border to prevent people from entering our country illegally and take
our jobs. He makes implausible statements,
like “we will not allow Muslims into this country”, to a nation that was
founded on religious freedom. This
strikes at our fear of terrorism. And,
he constantly threatens our ability to earning a living by telling us that
China is stealing our economy.
He doesn’t give political specifics as to how he is going to
accomplish the bold things he says he will do, but says so with such conviction
that people believe him. Mexico is going
to pay for the wall. Really?
Can he win the nomination for president? Only time will tell, but so far, he’s winning
all the Republican caucuses and primaries. Obviously, his brand strategy is paying off and he’s holding all the
high trump cards.
