From the moment Donald Trump entered the presidential race, the news media and pundits predicted his political demise. Each time his poll numbers went up instead of down, they rationalized it in irrational ways. For example, the news was flooded with Trump’s supposed missteps and guffaws. But when his poll numbers went up instead of down, the pundits claimed it’s because he’d gotten so much “free publicity”—never mind that the publicity had been given with the goal of making him look bad.
I’m not a political analyst. This is neither a defense nor criticism of Trump or any candidate. It’s a political outsider’s nonscientific attempt to explain what continues to befuddle so many. The seven counterpoints to conventional wisdom as to why “Trump can’t win…” are built from conversations with regular folks and nothing more. And here’s a bonus prediction based solely on these anecdotes: if Trump stays in the race, he’ll pick up support from Democrats, independents, African-Americans and women that will continue to befuddle his critics.
Trump can’t win because…
1. Trump doesn’t know the names of terror leaders.
Trump’s supporters think that anybody can memorize names of terror leaders and talking points about strategy. They believe those who do know the names have done a disastrous job on terrorism policy. They think it’s more important to have a leader who will stop following advice that keeps proving wrong than to have someone who can recite names.
2. Trump doesn’t have a plan.
Trump’s supporters believe that politicians who do have plans have messed up things pretty badly. They think Trump’s leadership skills make him more likely to accomplish a goal than a politician who has a plan.
3. Trump isn’t conservative enough.
Trump’s supporters don’t care that he doesn’t walk the party line. In fact, even if they don’t agree with all of his positions, they see his range of views as evidence that he won’t robotically bow to the will of a party above the people. His divergent views also appeal to some Democrats and independents.
4. Trump has flip-flopped.
Trump’s supporters, like many Americans, have changed their mind on issues over the years and it doesn’t bother them that Trump has, too. When Trump is criticized for flip-flopping, it only solidifies the idea among his supporters that the news media is stacking the deck against him. For example, the same reporters have not highlighted Hillary Clinton’s and President Obama’s flip-flops on gay marriage (both said through at least 2008 that they opposed it). Nor have they singled out Clinton’s change of heart on illegal immigration (in 2003, she said she was “adamantly against illegal immigrants.”)
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5. Trump personally insults people.
Trump’s supporters don’t think his penchant for insult outweighs the skillset he has to accomplish things that matter. Further, they believe Trump is giving as good as he gets whether it’s Democrats and other Republicans calling his supporters crazies, likening Republicans to terrorists, making fun of his hair, claiming he’s never read the Bible “because he’s not in it,” or saying he is a narcissistic clown.
6. Trump is against immigrants.
Trump’s supporters are wise to the propaganda effort that seeks to conflate illegal immigrants with legal immigrants. They know that Trump has spoken out in strong support of legal immigration, but opposes illegal immigration, as they do.
7. Trump won’t apologize.
Trump’s supporters are sick of the apology culture in which the media and pundits dictate appropriate behavior and demand apologies for perceived transgressions. They think a politician’s apology doesn’t change the deed and is rarely sincere; it’s simply a way of saying “I’m sorry I got caught” or “I’m sorry that what I did hurt my poll numbers.” Trump’s supporters believe his defiance of the apology culture demonstrates he will not be subject to the whims of media demands du jour.
“People may not remember what you said but they will remember how you made them feel while you were saying it.”
Politicians are worried about the content of their talk. We, as Americans, have learned the typical lingo and it’s boring. It’s the same old blah, blah, blah. We’ve learned that it’s just that – talk. Empty promises, just to get elected. Donald Trump comes along without the blah, blah politically correct talk and starts saying things that make us say, “Wow! That’s just what I’ve been thinking. Finally a person who has a big microphone and is saying just what I’ve been feeling.” “I like this guy.” “He makes me feel proud to be an American.”
We’re remembering how Trump makes us feel and that’s much more important than what he’s saying. Personally, he makes me feel like a proud American just like Ronald Reagan did.
Trump will win in a landslide just like The Great One. “God Bless America.”
Sharyl, your article describes how I feel as if you had actually interview me. Trump is rising because a greater number of US are awake or waking up to the scam being forced on us. I have had enough and will not take it anymore.
This is about the only un-biased report that exactly describes how I, a Trump supporter thinks. Thank you and keep on being one of very few journalists left in the world. And I am not exaggerating.
Trump is the first, and only one ‘telling it like it is’. Trump is the only one of the [group] that raised a question on Obama’s constitutional eligibility.
He’s number one on my list; and I certainly can’t vote for Cruz, Rubio and Jindal of the Republican party who are as constitutional ineligible as the usurper in office.
Actually, it was Hillary’s camp who first brought up Obama’s birth certificate.
Just found your site and very happy for it.
Good synopsis of how many of that are backing Trump feel. The establishments willful cognitive dissonance has raised the ire of the folks to a level far beyond their reckoning. Their plan to anoint Jeb! and rewrite the early primary process to castrate the grass roots has been trumped (sorry), and they have no idea how to compensate. Meanwhile, the mainstream press is finding they shall dance to the Donald’s tune and not the other way around.
It truly is a beautiful thing to behold.
Looking forward to watching/supporting your new show Sharyl. God Bless you in all your endeavors.
Compare these examples of celebrity journalists descriptions and explanations of Trump supporters compared to Sharyl Attkisson’s reporting:
Jonah Goldberg: groupie-type fanatics, addicts who need an intervention, infatuation, amusement, entertainment, mouth breathing anti-Semites and white nationalists, Trumpenproletariats
George Will: unaware he’s secretly working to get Hillary elected, Trumpkins find Trump entertainingly naughty, have remarkable cognitive dissonance, disdain for the separation of powers
Kevin Williamson: homoerotic, due to masculine envy, fooled into believing Trump is the perfect conservative
Gene Schwimmer: no-information voters, cannot be bothered even to learn what other candidates might even be in the race, let alone what their views and qualification might be
———-
I’ve been compiling a list, and the above is just a small example.
Shoot ’em up Paul, great observations.
That’s because these are all establishment pundits whose goal is to trash Trump to protect the establishment status quo at party headquarters. Those outsiders willing to honestly and objectively assess the situation by actually listening to Trump supporters have come to the conclusion that Americans are pissed and looking for someone to completely blow the establishment up! We’re sick to death of the Republicrats driving America into the ground while rewarding their fat cat crony corporatist donors at our expense! Trump honestly confirms exactly what we’ve known all along: that the system has been rigged against us by progressive Democrats perpetuating their evil agenda and gutless establishment Republicans who surrender faster then the French at the mere mention of opposition from Obama!
I hope Trump blows the entire establishment completely out of the water to such a degree that they are permanently destroyed with no chance of ever coming back to haunt us with their quisling ways! Like the rest of Trump’s supporters, I’m madder than hell at having this crap forced down my throat and I’m looking for someone to put a stop to it! I’m sick of the lying media, the gutless establishment Republicans, the evil progressive Democrats, and the entire culture of hypocrisy surrounding them all!
I’m not a political analyst.
Sharyl should be, because that’s the most accurate, honest and objective assessment of what’s going today I’ve read in years, in total contrast with both Left and Right sources. Sharyl was the only one on MediaBuzz who brought up the fact that Carson, Fiorina and the others attacked Trump first with cheap shots, while the other analyst ripped Trump and his supporters. Stephen Hayes: “[Trump supporters]…don’t care about basic things like facts, reason and logic.” 99% the staff at Fox News has become just as biased as MSNBC lately when it comes to political commentary.
Not saying I will or will not vote Trump. Still a long way to go. However, I believe his appeal is as simple as this:
People believe he is on their side, i.e that he is Pro America. What they see in Obama is not Pro America and certainly not Pro American People.
I totally agree, a cogent assessment of the “Trump Phenomenon.” Excellent work, Sharyl.
I think it’s simple – the passion and depth of the Tea Party movement has found a voice. Fearless and alpha male. Sick and tired of getting stiff armed by the Republican Party. What’s so hard to understand. Also, there’s more of us than there are of them, and Trump’s poll numbers prove it.
You have described me as a Trumpster exactly. I would only add, Trump has actually created jobs.
Yea, some of the entities he hand a hand in went bankrupt, but when you have had a hand in as many ventures as Trump, some are going to go bad.
And yea, he got a start with family money. Typically, the estate doesn’t grow decade after decade.
Trump has actually built stuff.
He has a big ego? How do you move in the circles he does and not have one? He’s just honest about his.
I love your work.
Ever more success at FOX.
Trump/Attkisson 2016 is the ticket of my dreams.
Sheryl Atkinson and Caroline Glick (Jerusalem post columnist) are the two smartest women in the world. Having a glass of champagne with them and Winston Churchill would be fantastic!
Yes…to everything she said
Right on. What about the pundits, etc. who say that calling Rosie O’Donnell a fat pig, or criticizing Carly Fiorina’s face is equal to Trump “hating/disrespecting women”?
An interesting perspective. I admit these issues have crossed my mind, thus I appreciate your objective analysis of them.
To be honest… my biggest complaint about Trump is based on who he is: A salesperson, in the worst sense of the title. He’s been a flim-flam artist for all of his adult life, selling the vapor of dreams as reality, and now that he is selling himself I don’t know what we will be getting if he is elected.
As we knew (and still know) too little about Obama due to rigid secrecy, we run the same risk with Trump, only with him it is due to bluster burying everything else. Simply put, I cannot trust anyone I do not feel like I know.
I am not against the ‘outsider’ dynamic, by the way – it’s one of the reasons I have been supporting Carly Fiorina from the early days of her campaign. I just enjoy her… shall we say, ‘saner’ approach to the nomination more than other methods being deployed.
But that is just me. Many do love the bombast, after all.
The real big deal is Trump is getting democrats just like Reagan and he will win the purple states easily. The dems can’t beat him let’s see if the GOPe can, I don’t thinso Lucy!!
We must be talking to the same people. This is what people, real people and real voters, are saying. Excellent and succinct. Thank you.
Can’t find a thing wrong with this analysis. Spot on Sharyl.
I think you left out a very important objection to Trump, and that is his upstaging of the attempted assassination of Pamela Geller, and company. It was this single incident, and his response to it, that ended his campaign.
Trump said a number of interesting things including that he was a bigger supporter of free speech than Pamela Geller, and Pamela Geller was dumb, and that he was smart.
He said he didn’t know why she was doing this.
Pamela had been planning the contest for weeks where it was discussed frequently on her web site, and she made it clear it was called in response to an ICNA convention which was held at the same building, and in defiance of the “Je Suis Charlie” campaign. Pamela’s event was a continuation of the rally cry –Je Suis Charlie.
Trump is not only ignorant on this subject, but he is uninterested. We have seen further indications of this from the Hugh Hewett interview, and his telling us we should take in some refugees.
We need somebody who doesn’t think fighting for the first amendment is “dumb”. We need someone who will stop pandering to Muslims on this issue the way Trump obviously intends to do. We don’t need a third rate insult comic.
The reason people like Trump is because he is a celebrity, and he makes them feel good. When that wears off, the headaches will begin.
Way to go. Look forward to more of the same
Sharyl – I’ve been a huge supporter of yours for several years, you speak truth and back it up w facts about whomever it is (male, female, repub, dem, black, white, etc, etc). I am super conservative and was for Ted Cruz before the media even spoke his name a few years ago. However, the 7 items you lay out pretty much nailed my internal struggle w why I now support Trump over anyone else. My dream scenario is for Trump to serve 1 term w VP Cruz, and then for Cruz to serve the next 8 yrs as Pres. That gives us the first 4yrs to get economy turned around and better deals negotiated (aka Iran, etc) and then 8 yrs to get back to the constitution.
Keep up the awesome work on your investigations, I try to read every word you write. You are a great American.
God Bless,
Scott
I would prefer 8 years for Trump and 8 for Cruz. Prefer Cruz. May have to settle for Carson if enough swing to him.
Hello, Scott…I agree with your response wholeheartedly and, like you, would like to see Trump win the 2016 election. It’s becoming great fun to see his numbers rise nearly dailey, isn’t it? I hope this continues.
Your ‘dream scenario’ is understandable, but I believe that when Donald Trump, with his professional, highly successful business acumen, gets our economy turned around and begins climbing upward, makes and breaks deals that have a great effect on our country…why change and prohibit Trump from a full two-term administration? After all, the business of America is business. And, the best business is good, honest business. And, I believe, this is essentially what the United States Constitution is all about and that it works best. Doing what we hope Donald Trump will do will be absolute proof that it does.
Best regards!
Paul K.