Trump vs. Clinton: Are You Ready To Rumble?!?!?!?!?!

The first presidential debate was one of the most important events of the 2016 presidential election. It was the first opportunity for a majority of Americans to see Donald Trump up close outside of the plethora of soundbites and out-of-context quotes. Despite dropping in the polls, I believe that this debate was instrumental in his election as president. For that reason, I chose the first section of the first debate (approx. first 20 min) for this blog. 

Trump’s high points

Overall, I found that Trump performed very well. Even though the question that started the sequence of debate was to Hillary, I thought he did a very good job of controlling the pace and demanding attention. The highest point of the debate for Trump was when he outlined his plan for increasing taxes to foreign countries that will help keep jobs in America. This has been an issue that he has garnered a lot of support from the normally democratic voting uneducated white voters. Another overall plus from this section is the fact that he showed the American voters that he isn’t always just spewing racist or misogynistic statements. This made him seem like a much more legitimate candidate at the time. The next aspect that he did a very good job of was rebutting Hillary’s comments regarding the loan his parents gave him. He turned the negative into a positive. Trump did that by discussing how he turned that loan into a multi-billion dollar company and how he plans to do that with the United States Economy

Trump’s Low points

In the section of the debate that I studied, Trump had only one very weak point. He was visibly flustered (no shocker here) when Hillary pulled out a quote of his regarding the housing crisis. When she pulled out the quote, "I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy,”, he cut her off by saying, “That’s business”. By cutting her off, he showed weakness and the bad temper that many of his opponents are fearful of. Aside from this gaffe, I didn't see any other major issues with his debating style in the first section of the debate. 

Suggestions?

If I was Trump’s advisor,e I would tell him a couple of things to try. For one, stick to the red power tie! It was his marquee look, and it really did demand attention and respect. The second suggestion I would make to him would be to know that you're going to get attacked and sometimes you need to brush it off. By brushing off some attacks it would change ideas about him in the electorate and place him in a position of control. The final suggestion that i would make to Donald Trump is more of a critique on his speaking style. I would tell him to ease off the constant hand gestures and limit them to points that need extra emphasis. 

Possible talking point issues?

In the section of the debate that I studied, the issues in discussion was narrowed to closing the wage gap and maintaining more jobs. The talking point issue that Trump could have fit into this section would be bringing jobs to the inner cities, and doing so not just by saying we’re going to clean up the gangs. This could have been a huge opportunity to present a plan to help minorities. A half decent sounding plan could have helped gain at least a small section of African-American voters. Just in general, if a Republican candidate can find a way to tap that voter block, it would end any chance of a Democratic victory. 

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/19/politics/donald-trump-2006-hopes-real-estate-market-crashes/index.html

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-post-debate-polls-228984

Shut the Trump Up! Inside Donny J's Victory Speech

         Donald Trump has a very specific and unique speaking style. His post-election victory speech really exemplifies his speaking style and everything we have come to expect from a speech by “Donny J”.  He maintains his signature slow and steady everyman language approach with this speech while highlighting the issues he sees as important. 

I see this speech as his best and most positive speech. He did a very good job of abiding by the ceremonial norms of the victory speech by thanking Fmr. Sec. Clinton for her service and commending her valiant effort in her campaign. Trump also is sure to thank his constituency for their unwavering support, as well as begin the reunification process that is necessary after an especially divisive election. This speech honestly felt more like an inaugural address than a victory speech with his comments on issues, however, not in a bad way. I thought it gave his speech more meat, and he went about discussing the issues in a such a way that was easy for people who weren't his supporters to get behind. 

With those positives being said, there were still some definite weaknesses to this speech. Firstly, while he attempted to unify the country with speech, it still sounds as an extremely nationalist piece of rhetoric rather than a celebratory “horah”. The other part of the speech I really didn't like was when he, once again, showed how piss poor he is at taking criticism. This came when discussing how great his campaign team is. He made a petty comment regarding how they criticized how small his campaign team, and that he thought his team was pretty big. There is just no need for that in this speech. He had already won and WAS giving such  great speech. The final criticism I have of his speech was that he had his entire family on stage. I know it isn't over is speech but I think having the entire Trump clan up there was a bad move because it brought unnecessary ridicule to Baron Trump. 

If I was his campaign manager, I would have a couple pieces of advice moving forward. First off, I would tell him to ease off the awkward “ok” sign hand gestures. They just make the audience feel uncomfortable. Secondly, I would tell him that criticisms of small things don't matter. You have already won there is no need to acknowledge stupid stuff and be petty about it. Finally, I would tell him to place some focus on appealing to minorities. His base of Republicans and uneducated white voters will not leave him, so he should work to garner some support from outsiders such as the Muslim and gay community. 

He did a good job in this speech of discussing all of the issues he had promoted during his campaign. Trump talked about a stricter foreign policy, more jobs for Americans, and a better overall infrastructure. I wish he would have discussed his plans for ISIS and his ties with Russia. Those were two things that were discussed and criticized during the campaign, and I think clearing the air a bit about both of those subjects would have gone a long ways. The other issue I wished he would have brought up was gay rights. I think discussing that issue would have put a lot of minds at ease. Since his nomination of Mike Pence, a big question surrounding the Trump campaign is how he would handle gay rights. I would also make the suggestion to him that he should back off talking about his immigration plans in upcoming speeches. It is one of his most divisive issue stances and this is the time for unification so laying off of the immigration stance may do him and the nation some good. 

Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFeq6zEu26k&t=538s

Trump Around! The Strategy that Won Trump the Presidency

  Trump’s first strength is the ability to appeal to fear. He does this by stating worst case

scenarios as very real threats to the average everyday Americans. An example of this was when he was talking about Mexican immigrants, "They're sending people that have lots of problems...they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists.”. This ability to play on fear was a huge part of his success. Another strength of Trump’s is the way he talks. He doesn't sound like a politician. He sounds like an everyday kind of guy, the kind of guy you could grab a beer with. That ability to sound average helped him appeal to the uneducated white voters that ended up being his strongest constituency.  

Trump definitely has his fair share of weaknesses. His first weakness is having no real political experience. This gave many people reasons to be suspicious of the legitimacy of his candidacy. Many staunch members of the Republican establishment didn't come around for a very long time because of his lack of experience. Another one of his weaknesses is his outspoken crassness. This is a weakness because his campaign team would never know what off the cuff comments he was going to make, so they had to  have back up plans set in  place.

            There is one opportunity in which Trump took advantage of that not many people (including myself) saw coming. That opportunity was the blue collared labor force of the rust belt. The rust belt voting block has been a hot bed for democratic support, especially the uneducated white vote. It was exactly that uneducated white vote swinging that helped Donald Trump win the presidency. I believe he took advantage of the rust belt in two ways. First by picking Mike Pence from Indiana to by his running mate, he sent the message that their voice would be heard. Second, the pitch that he is going to make sure factory jobs stay where they are at by taxing companies that outsource.

           The biggest threat to Donald Trump (other than getting stunned by STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iry-fullyhosted_011&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_011&hspart=iry&p=donald+trump+gets+cold+stoned#id=3&vid=e78ae17c4443b74142c8089db0f1ad27&action=click) was things from his past coming up last minute. An example of this was his infamous access hollywood video where he is quoted, “Grab them by the p^%$%”. That video resulted in huge protests and even some backlash within the Republican party. The other major threat to his candidacy was the rising minority vote in Texas. If Hillary would have been able to successfully take advantage of Texas the election may have turned out very different. 

During Trump’s campaign, there were two issues at the forefront. First, foreign policy regarding ISIS. Second, foreign policy in regards to keeping jobs in the hands of Americans. The reason why he wanted these two issue stances to be at the forefront of his campaign is to play off the fear that many American’s have of their way of life being threatened. Whether it be by a physical threat or it be by an economic threat. I think that Trump could have built off of the fear platform that North Korea has become a threat again and that they need to be dealt with promptly. 

          The two most important members of Trump’s campaign team were Kellyanne Conway and Daniel Scavino. Kellyanne Conway was his campaign manager. He made this change rather late in the campaign after firing his previous campaign manager. Conway used to be a pollster for many years and even worked for a Ted Cruz super-PAC before switching to team Trump. Once she was promoted to campaign manager, the effects were almost instant. She immediately made Trump apologize for anything he has done to hurt people and started trying to help his image. Daniel Scavino was Trump’s social media manager. Before the campaign, Scavino worked for Trump in advertising for over a decade. After his bid for presidency was announced, Scavino was quickly appointed to be a senior advisor and later social media manager. Trump’s social media presence is a big reason why he was so successful, he had a constant method of communication with the public. 

Sources:

https://ballotpedia.org/Daniel_Scavino

https://ballotpedia.org/Kellyanne_Conway

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/election-2016-donald-trump-defends-calling-mexican-immigrants-rapists/

Who is Donald Trump?

         Donald Trump is a 70 year old New York native who has had a very successful career as both a business man and a television personality. Trump was born in 1946 in Queens, New York to an upper middle class family. Seen as an assertive yet mischievous boy, he was sent to the New York Military Academy. In an interview with CNN Trump said this of the military academy, "I can tell you that one of the great choices I ever made in terms of success is the choice of going to NYMA,”. After the NYMA, Trump attended college at Fordham University for two years then transferred the University of Pennsylvania/ Wharton College. 

Upon graduating from college, Trump returned home to work for his father. He was disappointed by the profit his father was making, so the decision to leave for Manhattan to pursue real estate was made. From there, Trump ascended the business world creating enterprises such as Trump Vodka, GoTrump.com, Trump Towers, Trump Airways, and many more. His estimated worth from business alone hovers around 2 billion.  

Despite being a well known real estate mogul, Donald Trump’s high name recognition stems more form his TV personality days. The show he is most known for is “The Apprentice”. It was here that his outgoing and sometimes abrasive personality made him both a star and a household name.  

Despite his very impressive business resumé, I don’t believe that Donald Trump is qualified to be President of the United States. My main reasoning is that there is a certain level of almost ceremonially conservative nature that president’s have traditionally had, and that Donald Trump lacks. From his fame on a reality show to his overtly sexist and crass comments (ie access hollywood video http://www.nbcnews.com/video/trump-on-video-making-lewd-remarks-about-women-781481027898), I believe he lowers the station of the presidency. These are just the character flaws, not to mention the resumé flaws. He has zero experience in the political world. However, I can see why his constituency believed he was qualified. Firstly, with all of her previous scandals, Hillary Clinton wasn't too daunting of an opponent. Second, he is known as such a good business man that people believed that there isn't a task that would be too big for him. 

Trump has a very double edged sword type of image. On one hand, he is seen as an every day hard working American who is fed up with Washington. That is the image his constituency ate up, and that is exactly what his campaign team wanted everyone to see. On the other hand, his opponents see him as a bigot fascist who will run this country into the ground. They have this perception of a bigot because of comments on Mexicans and Muslims, and the perception of the fascist comes from his intensely nationalistic rhetoric.

If I were to be advising him on how to rework his image there is a couple things that I would tell him. First off, I would tell him to find a way to help possibly a private enterprise provide the services Planned Parenthood did. This would appeal to both the feminist movement and his private sector loving constituency. Second, he should attend a mosque for church. This would help quell the anti-muslim vibes he gives off. His constituency wouldn't love it but the partisanship is so strong they wouldn't sway. Thirdly, I would release his financial information to a blind fund. It improves transparency as well as follows the presidential tradition. If Donald Trump follows these guidelines, I believe he can turn his image around and garner for support from across the aisle, hopefully making these next four years much better than I anticipate. 

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/trump-on-video-making-lewd-remarks-about-women-781481027898

http://www.evancarmichael.com/library/donald-trump/His-Very-First-Property-Donald-Trump-Is-Born.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-military-academy-closes-2015-9

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/07/17/yes-donald-trump-really-went-to-an-ivy-league-school/?utm_term=.e6fcf1daa164