The Accidental President

 

This is a film on Amazon Prime that repeats what is well known in certain circles and what Micheal Wolff alluded to in his book "The Fire and Fury". That the 45th President of the United States, Donald John Trump, did not want the job. He saw it as a business move to increase his profile. It is believed that he played the system being a skilled marketer and self-promoter. However, Trump also said that he wanted to run for President in 1988, 2000, 2004 and 2012. People had been mocking him, and while before he had been seen as a business mogul, TV star and professional, by 2015, he was seen as a "has-been" with a failed business empire and lots of debts that were maturing soon. Before, people were mocking him, and even President Obama got in the act at the White House Correspondent dinner. From Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live to Jerry Springer, who said that "Trump did not belong in the WH but on my show". Trump is not a master manipulator or an evil genius; Trump is a media mogul. Neither is he a disease but rather a symptom of the two-party state that many people feel disenfranchise and increasingly distant from the politicians supposed to represent them. They saw the corruption all around them, the lobbyist, leeches, politicians, lawyers, vested interest groups, etc., in Washington DC, and the electorate wanted someone to ....drain the swamp. These people were not actually xenophobic, racist, sexist, stupid, etc., although they were all eventually duped or conned by Trump.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of people felt that the Democratic Party was not working for them. There was an ever-increasing gap between the rich and the poor. Some people could only afford to eat once per day. Automation had taken away four million manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The communities never recovered, and it seems the politicians, especially Hillary, was not listening. In fact, later, it turns out Trump said that she and the Washington elite were actually mocking them and laughing at them behind their backs. A lot of people believe that neither of the parties was working for them. While the American middle class had disappeared, the lower class has increased. The lack of economic gain or movement in the society had made it ripe for populism. Hence, extreme politicians like socialist Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump did appear more appealing to the populace. In the US, 78% of the populace do not have a college degree. At the same time, two-thirds of the populace has never been in a college. And more than 67% of the populace had less than $1,000 as savings.

The film states that Trump noticed that criticism of Obama got him noticed, his poll number increased. It was like red meat to a particular section, the racist and the not-so-racist individuals who believe in racist policies. He was neither Liberal nor Conservative although, more of a liberal Democrat. However, Trump was more media savvy and able to adapt in real-time to the news. He treated the Presidential race as a reality show, and as a reality show host, he had extensive experience. With Twitter, he made news instantaneously, as his aides were talking about one issue. With just one tweet, he changed the whole dynamics. His opponent had to have a series of aides and people who would react to the tweet and think about it before sending out a well-worded tweet in response. The more Trump hammered on Obama's birth certificate, the more he got noticed. He had no definite message, but he knew what the public wanted. He had a populist message. He denounced Mexicans that are taking advantage of the USA. The film stated that Trump said he would build a wall and Mexico will pay for it. He said that he would prevent Muslims from entering the US. In the Republicans primaries, because they were so many, it was like gold for him. He had the advantage of being talked about, and that provided him free publicity. It was a symbiotic relationship. The press got more advertisement deals, and he got exposure like Oxygen to his campaign. He would phone in, into live TV shows and do live interviews on the fly. No other Presidential politician had done this before. By the time the press realised the monster they had helped create, it was too late. Republicans are not looking for the smartest or most sophisticated person, but someone who was a fighter. The rules of the game had changed, and Trump had changed them. As one of the speakers in the film said, the rest "got the memo late". There were no longer debates and discussion but shock and aware. It was not about ideology but emotions. The electorate was looking for someone that understands them. Who they could identify with likes the same thing they love and hates the things they hate. Trump started by giving his opponents in the primaries nicknames, lyin' Ted (Senator Ted Cruz), little Macro (Senator Marco Rubio), (Low Energy Jeb), Governor Jeb Bush (Low energy Bush), Dr Ben Carson (Sleepy Ben Carson), etc. This action seems to have given him some psychological authority over them. They did not know how to deal with him. But the irony is this is a man who lives in a golden tower in New York, a mansion in Beverly Hills and a golf course in Florida, but he can resonate with the working class and the poor all over the country. Trump could tell them that he is one of them, and they believed him.

Simultaneously, the Democrats encouraged Republicans to vote for Trump to win the primaries as they believed that it would be easier to beat him in the Presidential election. The main strategery was for the media to take Trump more seriously. Also, they had a populist on their books who was making significant gains initially. He was winning states, nine initially. Hillary appeared aloof, and part of the establishment and her team made sure that she did not speak to the press. Everything she said was structured and went through a large number of specialist, and hence it did not appear natural and artificial, controlled and scripted. Hillary did not attract the votes. When she won the primaries, the Left earning elements in the party and Progressives felt that she used her establishment connections in the DNC (Democratic National Congress) to rig the system in her favour. While the Clintons were Democrats royalty. Bernie Sanders had previously been running as an independent and just shifted to the Democrats for the Presidential race - they owed him no loyalty. This was caused by widespread disruption as the Youths, and the academia felt short-chained and cheated. There were many demonstrations afterwards, with the slogan "Bernie or Brust", which split the party. There was also some degree of arrogance in the Clinton camp towards Trump. She also did not visit some of the rust belt states. Then she made the basket of deplorables speech giving the impression that she was mocking white blue-collar workers, which form the bulk of Trump supporters. Eleven days to the election, the FBI announced that it was reopening its investigations into Hillary emails.

Trump did get a lot of free press coverage, but this was negative. In a former age, the negative press would have been enough for the candidate to withdraw. There was "John McCain was not a war hero, because he got caught". Or the Access Hollywood Pussygate tapes, "grab them by the pussy". But this warmed the electorate up to him, who were fed up with political correctness being forced down their throats. They saw genuineness, honestly and authenticity, "telling them as it is". The Republican Party, to their credit, fought him all the way until he became their candidate after the primaries. When travelling throughout the country's rural areas, you see Trump yard signs, where blue-collar jobs had been lost due to globalization and automation. 

Although Clinton won the popular vote, she refused to go to Wisconsin and other "Democratic" states, which she took for granted. She refused to relate with the heartlands and the rust belt. The pollster got it so wrong. Many frustrated people voted for Trump, but they could not tell others they voted for someone who appeared so vain, superficial, narcissistic, etc. As they felt it was a reflection om them and their values. There were minorities, white women, rich guys, etc., people who would not usually be voting for a xenophobe. They would not tell pollster this because it made them seem bad and racists, xenophobic, etc. The rise of populism is a worldwide phenomenon due to the disruption caused by globalization, technology revolution, and automation. Trump, to his credit, managed to tap into the general resentment. Brexit in the UK, Marine Le Pen in France is just part of a trend. 

But all these factors from Hillary's perceived mocking, her taking for granted some aspect of the electorate, FBI announcement of the investigation of her emails, Bernie's defeat, the Trump factor, etc., all rolled up into making Trump the accidental President. As the film stated, the Trump campaign team did appear disorganised and spent far less money, and after winning, Trump did appear surprised.