Trump-fil-A

(If you read my last post I wanted you to know that I imagine Trumpagonia being chanted to this exact tune.)

Here I am sipping Chick-fil-A lemonade in direct contradiction with my Patagonia synchilla, and beliefs on social policy. I’m pondering two things. First, why did they cancel The Apprentice? I mean, I know Trump blames Schwarzenegger, but I think that’s pretty unfair. Second, I’m thinking about the Trump presidential campaign-- everything that went wrong, and worse: everything that went right.

Finally, a brand that a Trump supporter can get on board with.

Trump is consistently a cool guy having a chill day. He’s twitter famous, a CEO, and a reality TV star, in other words, a total diva. He’s the candidate that’s going to put up a fight, grill his opponents, and he’s wearing a polyester MAGA hat while doing it. He appeals strongly to a poorly educated and predominately white demographic, a potent group that has demonstrated their power forthrightly in this election. Unfortunately, with such bellicosity and gusto comes a loose tongue and poor impulse control. He says things that get him into trouble, and puts himself in precarious positions. He lacks political experience and tends to come off as amateurish and unprofessional.

            On the Clinton campaign front, one woman’s trash is another man’s treasure. The email scandal, her connections with Wall Street, and her tendency to musical chair her stances on issues, all presented themselves as opportunities that the Trump campaign took advantage of. The campaign was, however, confronted with several complications as well. Trump’s Access Hollywood tape, self-contradictory statements, and a fat pile of lawsuits all posed threats for the campaign, but with their usual effervescence and class, the Trump campaign staff was able to overcome. But not really. I would argue that the campaign staff did little to mitigate these concerns. Trump either excused his comments as unrepresentative of his beliefs, or shrugged accusations off, commenting with his typical bravado that he could, “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and [he] wouldn’t lose voters," and he was probably right.

            Also, I’ve ran out of Chic-fil-A fries, and that reminds me, did you know Trump publicly stated he wants Chic-fil-A to be open on Sundays? Thought it was funny.

The Trump campaign was riding on successfully delivering a very specific narrative to an extremely choice group of people. The object of the campaign was to paint the current establishment as incompetent. The previous administration was accused of putting the country at risk at the border, abroad, and at home, wasting American’s tax dollars and hard work. The issues at the forefront of the campaign were immigration policy, healthcare, and the tax code. Surely given the results of the election he covered the issues important to his voter base, but in order to win the popular vote, and the guy definitely wanted to, he needed more substance on these issues. There was a lot of talk about what and why, but not enough how. Many politicians and citizens questioned Trump’s ability to draft and execute the legislation he was pushing for, due to the infeasibility of many of his ideas. (Check the sick links that demonstrate why each of his major policy platforms I listed will fail).

4r Da Squaw

Now it’s time to introduce some members of Team Trump™.

First, he’s big, he’s grizzly, he’s Executive Chairman Steve Bannon. He has experience in political journalism being a founder of the far-right publication Breitbart News. The publication has been referred to as an “alt-right hub” where extremist conservatives congregate. Here’s an example of one of their headlines: 

“Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy.” Same.

            Bannon’s role in Trump’s campaign began before it was official. He started by plugging Trump propaganda on Breitbart, and hosted multiple radio interviews with Trump, positing him in a favorable manner. The apparent brownnosing worked, and Bannon was signed on as chief executive. Since then, it has been relatively smooth sailing, and Bannon will likely be assuming the position Trump appointed to him on the National Security Council.

        Up next, she’s fearless, she’s supreme, she’s Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway and she’s here to lay out the alternative facts. A republican woman of high education and successful career and family life, Kellyanne Conway is a perfect on-paper choice for campaign management. With experience as a strategist and pollster, Conway appears to be a good fit for the job. Conway met Trump in 2006 when she was living in one of his buildings and is said to have known him well. So well, in fact, she found it necessary to publicly refer to herself as “the Trump whisperer”. Good for her. The relationship between Trump and Conway seems stronger than ever, as she was appointed Counselor to President Trump.

          In an effort to sum this up, I just want to remind everyone that this is not good. Alt-right is a movement characterized by "white identity" and "alternative facts" is alternative phrasing for outright lies. This is troublesome to say the least. I resent the fact that my opener was about Chick-fil-A because the implications of the appointments Trump is making to his staff speak to the seriousness of the peril we face.