For anyone who isn't living under a rock, there is a presidential election currently going on in the United States of America. Donald Trump is now the presumptive nominee for the Republicans, since Ted Cruz, and John Kasich have dropped out of the Republican nomination race.
A Presumptive Nominee is a presidential candidate who is guaranteed to be the candidate for his/her political party, unless something catastrophic happens.
So, many people are asking the simple question: How in the heck did he do it? Coming from a completely logical standpoint, he won the most votes, most states, and most delegates on the Republican side-So he was bound to be the nominee. However, people may wonder why people even voted for Donald Trump.
Here is why I think Donald Trump appealed to so many voters.
Reason One: He didn't have much competition.
At the start of the primary season, there were eleven other Republican candidates: Jim Gilmore was an unknown, Rick Santorum, and Chris Christie had prior scandals, an unknown woman, an unknown neurosurgeon, Mike Huckabee-Who relies on religion more than issues, a Libertarian, another Bush, extremely conservative Ted Cruz, a very young senator-Marco Rubio, and John Kasich. At the start, I felt his only competition would be John Kasich, since he's more of a moderate, and focuses on social conservative issues. Then, John Kasich came in eighth place in the opening Iowa Caucus. Eighth place. Even behind Carly Fiorina.
So, let's dissect these candidates: Ben Carson is African-American, and Carly Fiorina is a woman. I mean no offense by this, but historically speaking, we have only seen one "Black"(If you even consider Obama Black, which I don't), and zero female nominees. So history tells us, Trump would beat those two. Huckabee, and Santorum are former losers, who were bound to lose again. Chris Christie is scandalous, Rand Paul is a Libertarian who has criticized the Republican party in the past. Then, there is Ted Cruz-Who is so conservative, even Republicans are afraid of him, and Marco Rubio is a "kid" in the presidential candidate world. Jeb Bush is another Bush, and America is sick of the Bush dynasty, and can someone tell me who the heck Jim Gilmore is?
Looking at the candidates alone, Donald Trump didn't have legit competition. If he had to run against the stronger Republican candidates of 2008, he probably would have came in third place at best.
Reason Two: He is completely bizarre, different, odd, weird, controversial, outlandish, whatever.
Donald Trump is an interesting character. He has made some extremely controversial comments regarding gender, and race, as well as mocked people, and said the most outrageous things. So, this is the recipe of "flop" campaign, right?, Well....no, not at all. If this was a European contest, that may be true. But this is the good ol' United States of America.
Many people here are fed up with the political correctness of this country-People such as me. However, I don't agree with voting for a candidate solely because that candidate isn't politically correct. Being the outcast doesn't help with scoring a date, or getting a job, but it does help in the political world-At least it does nowadays. Why? I don't know. Maybe it's the fact so many politicians are stale, and "by the book", it's refreshing to see a politician who doesn't conform to the norm.
Reason Three: He has one strategy: To get all voters
Trump's plan is simple: To "Make America Great Again." This is to appeal to all voters. You may be thinking: Aren't they all trying to win all voters? Theoretically speaking, the answer is "Yes." However, most candidates know it is unrealistic to appeal to certain groups. Bernie Sanders continuously rallies in predominately Caucasian, rural areas because he knows if they turn out, he has a better chance of winning. Hillary Clinton rallies in large, urban cities, because she knows the Black, and Latino populations in those cities will help her win.
The other unique aspect of Donald Trump's candidacy, is the fact his supporters have no "rhyme or reason." Against his running mates, he won religious, and non religious voters, he won low, and high income voters, he dominated voters aged 18-29, AND voters aged 65, and older-Which is extremely odd. Even among party affiliation, he is able to dominate independent voters, decisively win Republicans, and even snags Democrats. He was even able to win more racial minorities compared to every other Republican candidate.
When you win a wide range of people, you easily win a nomination. Just ask John Kerry circa. 2004, who also had a very random fan base.
Reason Four: He uses an appeal to pathos
An appeal to pathos is defined as an appeal to emotion, and a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response.
In my opinion, issues should be the top priority. Some people think honesty is important. Some people think intelligence, some people think experience, and so on.
However, most Americans like to hear what they want to hear-Regardless of how ethical, or realistic it is. They like hearing words, slangs, and positions which make them happy, and make them feel good. This is how Barack Obama became so popular in 2008, and was able to win the entire presidency. Donald Trump is similar to Obama in this sense. Let's look at Ted Cruz for example. He mentioned his viewpoints, and his plans, but never appealed to people's emotions. For instance, Ted Cruz might open up with "We need to downsize government spending, and give our control back to big businesses", where as Donald Trump opens up with "WE NEED TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND OUR ECONOMY IS IN THE GUTTER." Even if people completely agree with Cruz's views on the government, they will probably be more interested in Trump. Why? Because Trump caught their attention. He said what they liked to hear. Trump appealed to their...emotions.
Oddly enough, Bernie Sanders is probably the biggest candidate on appealing to emotions, but for whatever reason, couldn't get enough people to vote for him against Hillary Clinton.
Conclusion: You couldn't pay me to vote for Donald Trump. At this point, I will be voting for Hillary Clinton.
With that viewpoint aside, I have to respect Trump. He came in as an outsider of the Republican party, and was doubted from day one. He won the popular vote, delegate total, number of states won, and voters of all regions, and ranges of every possible demographic. Am I surprised? Not really.
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