Whether you support him or not, Donald Trump is at the center of controversy. Every time he opens his mouth he gathers the attention of everybody for better or worse. People question why he is so successful and wonder how could a man like Trump end up as the Republican Nominee. After reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, it's become obvious to me that Trump knows how to manipulate the media. Back when he had competition, Trump would dance around the issues and start drama against the other candidates. It made for a stellar show and CNN's increased ratings back this up. Trump would also wrap his views in bite sized slogans to make people understand his views better. Fortunately for him this came with the side effect of gaining massive press coverage due to how simple and absurd his slogans were. But how could this have all started and could he have forseen the success that he has gotten? To figure this out, I thought outside the box.
I recently read an article about a Donald Trump conspiracy where it said that Trump entered the election with the intention to lose. It compared Trump to the main character of the 1968 film The Producers. The basics are that Trump entered the election to increase awareness of his brands and businesses, however he had not intention of winning. He planned to self sabotage himself by trying his hardest to be the worst candidate in the race. He would drop out but still obtained the increased press and coverage that would ultimately help his businesses. Just like in the movie though, things turn south when he unexpectedly has become successful and now must deal with the consequences of his actions. For Trump's case specifically, the more crazy things he preaches the more his fans follow him.
Even Neil Postman couldn't have predicted how drastic the TV world has influenced our world. Especially to when TV satire becomes unsettlingly close to becoming true. What do you guys make of this? Do you support Trump? Do you believe that this theory is at least plausible?
In your blog post, you say that Donald Trump planned NOT to win the election and only wanted to simply draw awareness to his business. However, Trump could actually further promote his business if he won. In Brave New World, the society is controlled by a government that distracts them with constant entertainment and consumer goods. Trump might be attempting to do something similar by becoming president. He even has his own show called The Apprentice, and he has a business that he could be promoting. Maybe he is trying to distract us with his television shows in a similar fashion to the World State in Brave New World. If he actually becomes president, he would have a higher chance of getting a hold of more powerful technology that he might consider using to have an even tighter control on the economy than if he lost. It is clearly unlikely, but while we were on the topic of conspiracies, I thought I would share this because I felt it would be an interesting thought, even if I sound crazy.
ReplyDeleteHi Fred,
ReplyDeleteRead this. This was way back in the summer of 2015, when nobody really believed he would get very far.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/opinion/frank-bruni-we-invited-donald-trump-to-town.html
The whole thing just flabbergasts me. At every dinner party, at every social gathering I have been to over the past 6 months, people just look at each other and ask, "Is this for real?" Yes, babies. It's real.
I just read the article and it's fascinating to see the build up. It seems like all the signs were leading up for someone like Trump to take charge and yet we have mostly been oblivious to it until recently. The worst thing is by far his most adament voters who were caught up in the two party hatred. They dismiss proper criticism and any facts against Trump due to it being "leftist propaganda" or "spoken by a true Hillary supporter" regardless of who is actually saying it. The same can be said for Hillary criticisms but this is more common among Trump supporters. Too much ad hominem in general. I'm grateful that not everyone is like this but I am alarmed at how many are.
DeleteThank you for the read. It was very interesting.
I for one do not support Trump do to the offensive things he's said about different groups whether ethnic or religious. However, I do feel like your theory is plausible and that possibly the only reason he's said these offensive things is to lose for to help his business. Possibly, he did it to bring out the people of this country who think badly about groups to show they are still very well alive in America. Who knows? What I do know is that if Trump won or lost, I feel like he would still benefit as a result of how well he's made himself to the public.
ReplyDeleteTrump's campaign is fueled by HIS own money and that's important because he doesn't have corporations telling him what to say. He says what he wants as there is no one on his shoulder whispering in his ear what to say to better benefit their company. Him dancing around the issues just shows how inexperienced he is as a politician. Trump is a business man and this is his first race to a political position so it seems to fit that he dodges questions about each issue.
ReplyDeleteThat is actually the reason why Trump's campaign has gotten so far. Since he says what he wants, he has a sense of authenticity to him that his supporters like, which is a HUGE advantage to have against an opponent like Hillary Clinton, who is known to lie and say exactly what the polls say. Personally, I am against Trump, but I feel like it is very likely that he will win for that reason.
DeleteTrump I believe is unfit for presidency at this current age and political state we are in. But the thing about this election is that there is no good candidate. Hilary is a corrupted politician, and Trump is pretty arrogant and egotistical. A small part of me does feel that Trump is running for president just to promote his large Trump company. Trump, however, does believe in one thing I am for, and that is gun rights. Sure he believes the second amendment but what about the others? He is indeed an intolerable man for race, sexuality, and most of all, gender. Trump is a total sexist and is still doesn't believe in the wage gap. But besides these imperfections, we can't really definitively say that Trump is running for president just to promote his company. We can only observe diligently the next few months he has before someone is finally elected.
ReplyDeleteActually, Trump is right to not believe in the wage gap between men and women. It's illegal to pay a women less than a man for the same work. When men and women have the same job, there is no wage gap. When all men are combined compared to all women, men earn more because they choose more higher paying jobs such as STEM jobs. Women tend to choose social jobs such as child care and teaching which pay less than STEM jobs.
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