Cult of Personality

I've been trying for the past six weeks or so to make sense in my mind of Donald Trump's presidential run.  In a way, I can understand the appeal.  Here's a famous, wealthy guy who shoots from the hip and tells it like it is.  His fame gives him instant name recognition, his wealth gives him the appearance of being independent from the lobbyists and Super PAC's that many characterize as what's wrong with American politics. 

Trump is hammering the public with a form of populism that is distinct from any of the other candidates, mainly because Trump himself seems to have no ideological foundation. As such, he seems liberal on some issues and conservative on others.  For example, Trump came out in the past few days with a soak the rich tax plan and anti-free market trade policy that would effectively levy tariffs on imported goods and hurt free trade as we know it, both left of center ideas. Yet the centerpiece of Trump's campaign has always been his nativist, xenophobic anti-immigration plan that would deport millions of illegal immigrants and build a wall on the Mexican border; a conservative position if there ever was one. 

Maybe this is what's so maddening about Trump to those who don't support him.  In the past Trump has said himself that he was pro-choice, pro-big government and identified as a liberal Democrat. Now Trump doesn't seem to be any of those things, though big government is certainly up for debate. How can anyone really know what Trump believes? Certainly people evolve on issues, even sets of issues, but rarely does anyone do a complete ideological 180.

I tend to think that Trump may just be an opportunistic businessman/politician, willing to say what seems to scratch the ears of an largely unsatisfied segment of the population all the while searching out ways his multi-billion dollar empire can profit from it. Perhaps I'm just cynical.

While it is still very early in the primary season, so far Trump continues to hold leads among Republican primary voters (though neurosurgeon turned politician Ben Carson continues to gain ground.)  Only time will tell if he can keep his momentum, but Trump will continue to baffle those who don't support him and galvanize those who do.

-Ray-