I have come to the conclusion that the counselors hired by Trump told him to just be himself in the first Presidential Debate with Hillary Clinton. They know he can’t beat Hillary at a game in which she excels. So they must have come to the conclusion that it was far better to tell him ‘Do your thing’: the gimmick of being un-political, not slick and knowledgeable because people in general, and his potential voters in particular have little idea of how Washington works and don’t like to feel they are being talked down to by a fancy talking DC politician.
I know, I know… far fetched. Let’s see how the polls go. I am aware this is an absurd opinion. The problem is that Trump is capable of trying it. I wouldn’t put it past him or his team. They’re out to win. He’s garnered a following of millions being himself.
He was incoherent most of the time and the few moments when he wasn’t, he didn’t press Hillary for an answer. In any case, he’s a disaster in a debate. I find it hard to believe that such an utter lack of professionalism is totally unscripted. I’m probably seeing weird things because it is just so surreal that he is a candidate. Yet again, speaking as a non-American who will not be able to vote but will most probably be affected by the outcome, this is a surreal campaign from beginning to end, on both sides.
I know many people who would vote for him. I’ve seen it here in Spain and I am seeing it still, both nationally and locally. A candidate like Trump makes them feel good about themselves because they think: if he talks just like me (so I can relate to him) and he’s the candidate, then I’m not a total failure. I think that is what draws people to him. He says what they think and dares to say it in an ‘unsophisticated’ way. It’s not just their VIEWS he gives voice to, he resembles THEM!
I’d call Mr. Trump’s intervention in the debate the drunken ramblings of a chimp because I can’t for the life of me understand anything he says. I can’t agree or disagree with him because I don’t know what he means. He’s incoherent , and listening to his drawn out speaking process is difficult. It seems like he makes no effort whatsoever not only to be coherent, but to put his thoughts in order so as to make himself minimally comprehensible. I can only guess that he considers this too ‘intellectual’ and many followers are of the same opinion.
And his counselors know it. So that’s why I say that it’s not totally absurd (within the context of this surreal campaign) that they just let him, as they say, ‘go do his thing’. If they tried to get him to do something differently, he wouldn’t out of sheer megalomania and stubbornness.
As for the more educated Trump followers, they would fall, as I see it, into two categories: the ones who rightly or wrongly believe that they will profit from him being in Office; and the ones who are SO fed up with the political establishment that Hillary represents that they just want out, a total outsider, someone who, to them, is a symbol of lack of political correctness and who cannot be ‘steered’ easily. To them, Trump is not perceived as a part of the political establishment. This, of course, is not true at all. We all know the immense leverage big corporations have on governments, on either side of the Atlantic and indeed around the world.
Basically, people are turning towards Trump because he makes them feel good about themselves. He is rich, but he is not a snob or an intellectual. People -who would have thought- can forgive his money. After all, isn’t that the American Dream? But people are unwilling to forgive anyone who makes them feel stupid or talked down to, or someone who explains things that they don’t understand very well in a way that makes them suspect they are being conned.
As I write these last words, I am seeing the results of several polls. The debate has a clear winner, apparently.
Time Magazine: Clinton, 45%, Trump, 55%
CNBC: Clinton, 33%, Trump, 67%
CNN. Clinton, 34%, Trump, 18%, Neither, 47%
I am starting to believe that maybe there’s more to Trump than meets the eye…or the ear. Is my hypothesis on its way to being proved true? You can disagree with me. I may be wrong. Time will tell.
The Green Dog Chronicles. My New Life in Navia 
This is just my opinion, but I think those who follow Trump aren’t looking at him holistically. They’re just seeing how he’s “become more presidential,” they’re believing the lies he tells left and right, and it scares me. Time and time again, he’s been called out for lying, numerous analysts have said his claim that he’ll create 25 million jobs is bogus, and just yesterday he went on to say more misogynistic things. At any rate, I’m glad you wrote about this topic even though you don’t live in the U.S. I’ve been wondering how folks overseas felt and I can see you’re just as uneasy.
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He wasn’t, isn’t and will most probably never be ‘presidential’. He’s just an average guy with the luck to have been born into a rich family. I don’t think anyone but a true misogynist could see him as more ‘presidential’ than Hillary. Personally, I wouldn’t vote for either. If I were there, I’d vote for Jill Stein. Hillary Is by far the better candidate, but it is still quite scary to vote for her. She is the Establishment candidate and I think she will win. In any case, it makes little difference who wins. Corporate capitalists -including banks- are who dictate laws and govern the government, here, there and everywhere.
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I understand your point of view but we have to vote for Hillary because the independents can’t win. Period. Our government is structured as a two-party system, it’s impossible for a third-party takeover. The electoral college will never vote for them. And Donald Trump is the alternative. No, Hillary isn’t the best candidate, but there isn’t a choice.
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And I find it ridiculous that people call Donald “presidential.” He isn’t even a decent human being let alone a decent potential country leader.
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I’m on the outside looking in as well, and I agree with you.
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I’ve never been quite right for any place I lived. I suppose it’s because I was born in one place, raised in another and have now lived in another three places… However, it is true that home is where the heart is. Mine is with my people. Thank you for reading!
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You are right…people have come to distrust intellectuals, because they haven’t seen any improvement in their own lives for a long time now. Most people think the media is a total scam operation and that every single politician is corrupt. The right crusades against government and the left against top 1%. People are failing to see the big picture😪 The way forward lies in the middle ground.
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Politicians are not the issue. The system is the issue. It’s not working, not in the USA or in Europe. The way forward lies in the people waking up and realizing the meaning of democracy is the government of the people, not of politicians or corporations. If people realize that power is in their hands and not only on election day, we might see a change.
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