Donald Trump: Leader of His Campaign

Donald Trump’s campaign has suffered its third major leadership shakeup (Reston). The man who says that he can make America great, is finding it difficult to make his own plummeting national campaign great. Is this a reflection of his ability to build a winning coalition to change the course of America? Many are not sure. What is clear is that Trump is unable to recognize that blaming his cohorts is not the problem. The actual source of his core problem is himself. “His core problems [are] his murky message, his scattershot ground game, and his unwillingness to appeal to a broader group of voters” (Reston). More concisely, Donald Trump’s problem is Donald Trump.

In June, Donald fired his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, brought on to appeal to Republicans, during the primary, who felt they did not have a voice (Diamond). Subsequently, Paul Manafort took over the reins, after Trump clinched the nomination, hoping to present a more stable and presidential Trump. However, Trump is who he is, and that is why his constituency loves him, so after the tempestuous time dealing with Manafort, Trump has named Steve Bannon his new campaign chief executive. Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News, was once an investment banker. Kellyanne Conway, a top advisor and pollster, has been promoted as Trump’s campaign manager. The pair signal a shift in the Trump direction. He seems to have determined that ‘being presidential’ is not what allowed him to abscond with the Republican GOP nomination. In fact it was his scrappy, outsider, do-and-say-whatever image, that allowed him to pummel the Republican primaries. Bannon, “a conservative media provocateur” (Martin, Rutenberg and Haberman), is known for his no holds barred perspective and irreverent website positions. His “news organization regularly attacks the Republican Party establishment, savages Hillary Clinton and encourages Mr. Trump’s most pugilistic instincts” (Martin, Rutenberg and Haberman). In the last three months of his campaign for the presidency, it looks like Trump will either be victorious or go down in a rash of, I did it my way flames. The selection of Bannon is in defiance of the will of the Republican body politic to stop him from the pomposity and vitriolic speech that helped him win the nomination, but, at least for now, is alienating the core constituency of the Republican party (Martin, Rutenberg and Haberman). In addition, Trump’s selection functions as a monogrammed hieroglyphic seal in support of Bannon, who aggressively, but unsuccessfully, tried to oust House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, during the primary.

Trumps Post Republican Convention Strategy

Trump’s post-Republican Convention strategy seems to be core reinforcement of those loyal to him, according to Lanhee J. Chen, Mitt Romney’s director of policy in 2012 (Martin, Rutenberg and Haberman). This is in contravention to what most candidates do in the final months of the race, which is to broaden their appeal to those with contrary views and those on the fence, in an effort to build coalition. Local Republicans are fearful that Trump’s distressed candidacy will reflect poorly on them, and will cause losses in control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. “National and local party officials and strategists are increasingly concerned that he is in danger of being so soundly defeated that even their best-prepared candidates will not be able to withstand the backlash to the top of the ticket” (Martin). Senator Lindsay Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, who knows numerous colleagues seeking re-election says, “people are getting pretty nervous about our candidates because he’s in a death spiral here and nobody knows where the bottom is at” (Martin). The advent of Bannon, as chief executive of Trump’s campaign, exacerbates their concern. If Bannon decides to advise Trump to increase his incendiary speeches, the moderates might become too discouraged to show up on election night. Some Republican strategists feel that those candidates in races that are leaning Democratic, or are running even, should totally abandon Trump, because voters that are dependable will likely vote all Republican. Others feel that propping Trump up is the best way to go. If Trump is disavowed, his poll numbers will sink even further, dragging everyone down the drain with him. Graham made an analogy to the black comedy, Weekend with Bernie, which seemed apropos, in which Bernie is dead, but his employees try to make it seem as though he is still alive, so that they do not get implicated in his murder. The concept is quite Trumpish, because, as Trump would certainly say, in the face of plummeting poll numbers “I’m still doing fine, right?”

The Republican National Committee and Local Candidates

A petition, signed by 75 Republicans, has been sent to the Republican National Committee asking for help (RNC) (Zezima). The objective is to get the RNC to support the local candidates, rather than throwing money at the Donald Trump presidential campaign. Signers of the petition include numerous Republicans, including both current and former congressmen, senators, policy aides, and RNC staff. Their concern is that the Trump campaign is going to have a cataclysmic effect on down-ballot races. Numerous Republicans have expressed that they simply are not behind Trump. The letter states:

We believe that Donald Trump’s divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide, and only the immediate shift of all available RNC resources to vulnerable Senate and House races will prevent the GOP from drowning with a Trump-emblazoned anchor around its neck" (Zezima)

The petitioners continued that they felt that Trump’s likelihood of becoming president was going down-hill at an accelerated rate on a daily basis (Zezima). They cited the ongoing discord and incendiary words, which are having a negative impact on the voters. As an example they mentioned the Muslim American Army captain’s parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, and the feud with Trump, and the other comments he made which demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge about foreign policy, as well as lies that he has offered on numerous issues (Zezima). The letter also addresses the acrimony toward his own party members, like statements that Ted Cruz’s father was linked to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and not supporting House Speaker Paul Ryan's primary campaign.

Former spokesperson for Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich, Andrew Weinstein, said the signers came together, because every day they were becoming more and more concerned that the Republican majority in Congress could be lost completely. Quite surprisingly, Weinstein says that he is going to vote for Hillary Clinton. Weinstein’s perspective is one based on experience, he was part of Bob Dole’s 1996 campaign and has seen these troubled waters before. Prior to Election Day in 1996, everyone realized that Dole was going to lose. Consequently, Republicans urged that they be protected from that projected crash. The RNC started spending money heavily on television ads in areas were the congressional contests were most contentious. As a result, the Republicans were able to sustain a majority, despite losing nine seats. The petitioners can see the writing on the wall and want the RNC to send them a life line now, rather than later. At this point, Weinstein said, it is not about the presidency, it is about saving Congress.

Paul Ryan: Saving Congress

On August 4th, 2016, Paul Ryan, the Republican House Speaker from Wisconsin, made a pressing fundraising solicitation and urged the constituents to heed his words because the party could be handing Clinton a “blank check” (Johnson, and Tumulty). His warning was significant for two reasons, first, he was signaling that Clinton is quite likely to win the election in a landslide, and he was using terminology that reminded party elders of the exact words that were used when it was clear Bob Dole would lose the election by a landslide to Bill Clinton. Dole was devastated to hear that his party, the Republicans, had lost faith in him (Johnson, and Tumulty). Yet, if this turns out to be the same in Trump’s case, he will not be devastated, he will just take a long vacation.

Which Trump Issue is the Most Shocking?

There are so many shocking issues to choose from, but the most interesting (and humorous) topic was when Melania Trump plagiarized Michelle Obama’s speech (Cillizza). Plagiarism is never good, it cannot be explained away, period. But, plagiarizing the speech of a Democratic candidate’s wife? Somehow plagiarizing the speech of a Republican’s wife seems slightly (well, not really) better. Deciding that you liked the words that the Democratic First Lady of the United States expressed in 2008 seems so profoundly counter intuitive, particularly considering how much Trump criticizes and blasphemes President Obama. Did Trump thank the Obamas for such an eloquently worded speech? He did not even give the Obamas credit for writing such an incredible speech, one that obviously appealed so much to his wife. Use of Google or Copyscape, free tools that anyone can use to check for plagiarism, would have taken less than 30 seconds to identify the gaff. This implies that very little checking, concern for authenticity, or concern about the importance of the Republican Convention and the prime-time benefits it could have potentially provided Trump, went into his plan for executing the most important night of his campaign. Meredith McIver, an ex-ballerina, was Melania’s speech writer for the evening (Horowitz). Although he apparently did not fire her – and how many more people could Trump fire in the midst of his campaign – it is effectively a reflection of his inability to secure the most qualified personnel for the job. What other mistakes will Trump make with his next most important job, governance of the nation?

The question still arises, is this how Trump will run the White House and run the nation? Melania’s speech was one of the most important speeches given at the convention. Everyone wanted to hear her presentation. Every Republican wanted to hear her give a perspective on her husband that no one else could possibly give. Melania’s outlook on her husband is one that could humanize him, it is a point of view that could warm our hearts – one in which all could say, ‘well he’s not that bad, he’s just a teddy bear at heart.’ It was one of the most important speeches, given on one of the most important nights, regarding one of his most important objectives - the Republican nomination, a goal he has been pursuing for over a year, actually years - and no one reviewed the speech? Seriously?

Trump has had a total of 6 bankruptcies, one in 1991, three in 1992, one in 2004, and one in 2009 (Qui). The bankruptcies allowed Trump to reorganize his corporate debt and continue running the businesses and making money (Hirbyand). Usually these bankruptcies either lengthen the time to repay the debt, or reduce the debt to a more palatable level. This also means that his creditors do not get paid according to the original terms of the agreement that they made with Trump, and likely do not receive the full amount that they originally expected. Trump’s rather nonchalant perspective on bankruptcy is reflected in a response he gave on ABC’s This Week, hosted by George Stephanopoulos: we use, the laws of this country, the bankruptcy because we’ll buy a company. We’ll have the company, we’ll throw it into a chapter, we’ll negotiate with the banks, we’ll make a fantastic deal. We’ll use those [laws] . . .” (Cohan).

Nonchalant may not even fully express his flippant attitude about bankruptcies. Bankruptcy is not supposed to be a business strategy, it is a last ditch effort to save a company. But Trump seems to use bankruptcy as his company’s mission statement. The question remains, what will he do to America?

Works Cited

Cillizza, Chris. "The astounding carelessness of Donald Trump finally caught up with him." The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. 19 July 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/19/the-astounding-carelessness-of-donald-trump-finally-caught-up-with-him/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_2_na>.

Cohan, William, D. "What Exactly Is Donald Trump's Deal?" The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group.  April 2013. Web. 18 August 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/04/whats-the-deal-with-donald-trump/309261/>.

Diamond, Jeremy. "Trump campaign shake-up." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 17 August 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/17/politics/trump-campaign-overhaul/>.

Hirbyand, James. "How is Donald Trump Able to File for Bankruptcy So Many Times?" The Law Dictionary. Black's Law Dictionary Free 2nd Ed. and The Law Dictionary. n. d. Web. 18 August 2016. <http://thelawdictionary.org/article/how-is-donald-trump-able-to-file-for-bankruptcy-so-many-times/>.

Horowitz, Jason. "Behind Melania Trump’s Cribbed Lines, an Ex-Ballerina Who Loved Writing." The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 20 August 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/us/politics/melania-trump-speech-meredith-mciver.html?_r=0>.

Johnson, Jenna and Tumulty, Karen. "Did Paul Ryan just predict that Clinton will win in a landslide?" The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. 4 August 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/did-paul-ryan-just-predict-that-clinton-will-win-in-a-landslide/2016/08/04/7e50022e-5a91-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html?tid=a_inl>.

Martin, Jonathan. "Republicans Worry a Falling Donald Trump Tide Will Lower All Boats." The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 18 August 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/us/politics/republicans-worry-a-falling-donald-trump-tide-will-lower-all-boats.html>.

Martin, Jonathan, Rutenberg, Jim and Haberman, Maggie. "Donald Trump Appoints Media Firebrand to Run Campaign." The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 17 August 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/us/politics/donald-trump-stephen-bannon-paul-manafort.html?_r=0>.

Qiu, Linda. "Yep, Donald Trump's companies have declared bankruptcy...more than four times." Politifact. Tampa Bay Times. 21 June 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/21/hillary-clinton/yep-donald-trumps-companies-have-declared-bankrupt/>.

Reston, Maeve. "Donald Trump's shakeup gamble." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 18 August 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/18/politics/donald-trump-shakeup-gamble/>.

Zezima, Katie. "Dozens of Republicans urge RNC to spend money on congressional races, not Trump." The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. 11 August 2016. Web. 18 August 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/08/11/dozens-of-republicans-urge-rnc-to-spend-money-on-congressional-races-not-trump/>.