Donald Trump is at the top of several Republican primary polls going into
the debate season which starts in August. It means that he will be seen
as a legitimate candidate and be on the stage when some former and sitting
governors and senators will not. Several pundits have acted like this is somehow
surprising and attempt to explain it away. I don't understand their
surprise. Donald Trump has been part of celebrity culture as long as I
can remember. He is a larger than life figure and plays that role very
well. There was a time when people looked at Trump as a symbol of
American Capitalism. However his personal life, TV shows and of course his
bombastic speech have made him the perfect symbol and champion of the followers
of the right wing noise machine that is built on constant
outrage. Will he get the nomination or be elected? No he
won't. In fact once votes start to mean something the more
establishment Republicans will rally around a single candidate they think could
win. Likely Scott Walker or Jeb Bush, both with executive experience
and good relationships inside the party and can appeal to some moderate
Democrats. But as this Sunday dawns the morning shows have made Donald
Trump the opening statement across the board.
Donald Trump is a celebrity who is acting like a candidate. An
egomaniac that has spent his life looking for adulation, telling us how
good he is, how wonderful, smart, sexy and virile he is. He in fact is
like a template for a pro-wrestling heal who people love to hate but will cheer
for him when he turns on someone they hate more. And that is exactly what
Trump is doing. Tapping into an anti-establishment feeling that has been
the bread and butter of the right wing radio screamers, Trump is getting the
followers that feed off his fame and angry language.
For some Trump's celebrity can be seen as a negative, but as a culture we
tend to worship celebrity. Right now it is part of what drives those that
show up at his rallies and tell pollsters they like him.
Celebrities have become like house gods.
People try to connect with celebrity more and
more and with social media it has become easier.
We look to those people who are famous for
what to wear, how to talk, and sometimes seek their divine intervention on our
lives using connections to them as good luck charms.
I once saw a woman in a casino cover a slot
machine with pictures of a particular boy band to the point she couldn’t even
see the wheels.
As she pulled the lever
she would call to the members to help her win.
While that is an extreme I think there is an unconscious idea that fame
means the person is special, bigger than us.
Trump is a perfect storm in that his celebrity and wealth has been
admired and worshiped for decades and now he is the voice of so many who feel
put upon by a culture that is less comfortable open bigotry that Trump is embracing.
A group of people who daily are bombarded by
childish rhetoric designed not to inform but to bring out emotion.
So Donald Trump makes sense in our current
culture.
That is sad.
It will be fun to watch for a while.
If you aren’t the target of his hateful
rhetoric.
Now we just need a face to
rise up and take him on.
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