Ithaca College

"Why does Donald Trump matter?  What factors seem to explain the flourishing of a Trump political brand?

Rising income and wealth inequalities across segments of the declining middle class, the growth of conservative media outlets since the 1980s—especially Rupert Murdoch’s business ventures—and the expanding campaign finance system that opens the powerful moneyed interests have all played a part. As do the return of identity politics over recognition and redistribution from the left and right—the political fights and white backlash over affirmative action, Black Lives Matter and the struggles over the classification system, leading to what I call a cultural war over taxonomy as politics for defining citizenship, civic worth and social entitlements.

The growth of the post-9/11 national security state putting an end to 1990s “politically correct” rhetoric and thus affording the “othering” of American citizens; the expansion of new media technologies like social media, allowing direct access to different people, ideas and public spaces, channels and potential markets for more self-advertising campaigns; and the upsurge of partisanship at all levels resulting in economic stagnation and congressional polarization, among other stalemates, such as stalling Supreme Court nominees.

All these factors have elevated Trump beyond his wildest dreams, extending his reality-show persona into everyday political spaces, providing a public forum with audiences open—or perhaps vulnerable—to his brand of self-assertiveness seen through his exaggerated stories of success and political “outsider” claims."

More importantly, "Donald Trump has forced the Republican Party to reconsider its core values and principles and what it will stand for moving forward, whether he wins or not."

Please find full op-ed here:  www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/donald-trump-american-politics-us-election-20169/