Wrap-up: How Trump broke the rules of modern politics, and won anyway
Polling? Who needs to do that? Fundraising? Can't be bothered. Parse your words? Fuhgetabout it.
Donald Trump took the rules of modern politics, trashed them and became the last man standing for the Republican nomination. A few ways Trump did it his way:
Say Anything: It’s what Trump’s supporters love about him: He blurts out whatever pops into his head. He rejects “political correctness.”
Cheapskate:The billionaire is proud to campaign on the cheap, milking free media in a way that others could only envy. He functioned through most of the primaries with a bare-bones staff. He never set up a traditional fundraising operation.
Xenophobia: With ‘The Donald’ cresting a wave of middle-class White American anger at jobs lost to immigrants, everyone who is not the classical White American Anglo Saxon Protestant, especially the NRIs, will understand what it means to be a minority.
Consistency: Most candidates recoil from the “flip-flopper” label. Trump changes his mind — not just week to week or day to day, but sometimes even within the same speech. “You have to be flexible, because you learn,” he said.
Policy Gaps: Candidates love to trot out five-point plans and lofty position papers. Trump, not so much. His America First policy speech was a broad-brush endeavour. Trump makes a virtue of leaving enemies guessing about US intentions.
Potty Mouth: Trump salts his speeches with vulgarities — although he’s dialled it back a bit after a scolding from Melania. Lots of politicians use profanities, but typically not in public. Trump has publicly lip-synced the F-bomb, blurted out the S-word and hurled an offensive term at rival Ted Cruz.