As the UK comes to terms with once again being governed by an unelected leader, across the pond the more traditional and democratic method of selecting their next political spearhead is well underway.
The candidates in the race to be the next American President are, er, contrasting in styles, with the Democratic approach of Hillary Clinton a stark contrast to the rather more rugged politics of the Republican hope Donald Trump.
So who is the early favourite in the quest to become one of the most powerful men/women on the planet?
Trump: Revolutionary or just Hot Air?
There was a British political commentator, whose name escapes us, that once said that if society and modern culture continues as it is, it won’t be long before we have a celebrity Prime Minister. We may still be some way away from that theory becoming a reality, but Donald Trump’s ascension as possible President is as near an example as we have of this cautionary tale becoming a reality.
As unlikely as ‘Donald Trump for President’ sounds, there is a mounting feeling that he will have time to mount a serious case in the run-up to the constitutionally-decreed election date of November. He is firmly anti-immigration and anti-Muslim, and – and we take no pleasure in saying this given the barbaric nature of the atrocities – but each a ‘terrorist’ act results in a ‘Westerner’ being killed, Trump’s position strengthens.
Then there is ‘disappearing email-gate’, with Hillary Clinton believed to have deleted key communications sent from her private server. A number of Americans want to know the content of these messages, with Trump going as far as to request that Russia ‘hacks’ her account. That is a mark of the sometimes farcical nature of the race to the White House so far, but does genuinely make a serious point about political trust in an age of widespread paranoia.
Finally there is the controversial Benghazi probe and the fact that she is married to unpopular former President Bill Clinton. Trump is a master of playing TV crowds to his advantage, and as we have witnessed across the globe right-wing politics is ‘back in fashion’, as it tends to be in times of political, financial and religious unrest. The timing for Trump to be elected could not be any better.
Clinton has Enough Ammunition to Take Down Trump, Surely?
You’d think so, wouldn’t you. But what we’re perhaps not so familiar with in the UK is that Trump is actually more popular in the States than you might think. He appeared in numerous series’ of the American version of The Apprentice – remember what we wrote earlier about a celebrity president – and he has even had cameos in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Zoolander and Sex in the City in the past. Be under no illusions, our American cousins (generalisation alert) love that sort of thing.
There are numerous websites that have collated some of Trump’s most controversial quotes and these reveal him to be mostly sexist, racist and paranoid. Our personal favourite is ‘I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.” Creepy.
Not ideal presidential material then, but you should not underestimate the power of ‘straight talking’ in this modern era of paranoid politicking.
Poll Dance
The latest opinion polls put Trump at 43.2% and Clinton at 43.6%, and as time marches on you can expect that gap to close even further. Hillary’s campaign team will need to focus upon disillusioned Republicans, who will perhaps see the Democrats as a lesser of two evils. If she can convince them of that, she stands a chance.
But perhaps most worrying is a graphic published in The Telegraph, which shows how much Clinton’s stock has fallen in the past year with voters – and how Trump’s has risen.
The bookmakers have Trump pegged as the 2/5 favourite with Trump as a 7/4 outsider to be the next president of America. But ‘Remain’ was 1/8 on during the EU Referendum…..and we all know how that panned out. We take no pleasure in writing this, but back Trump now before his price tumbles in the coming weeks and months.