In a year of political firsts, the United States presidential election of 2016 has been unique. This has been, in large part, the result of the Republican candidate Donald Trump. Mr. Trump has intrigued American voters and heightened interest in the American presidential campaign of 2016. This interest in the campaign has been the highest that I remember in many years. In fact, it has actually, at times, been amusing. That, it itself, is almost a first.
However, Mr. Trump has been considered a potential candidate for several years. His political visibility since the 1988 presidential election has been summarized as follows:
“Since the 1988 presidential election, Trump has been considered a potential candidate for President in nearly every election.[23][24][25] In October 1999, Trump declared himself a potential candidate for the Reform Party's presidential nomination,[26] but withdrew on February 14, 2000.[27] In 2004, Trump said that he identified as a Democrat in many cases and expressed support for Hillary Clinton's ability to negotiate with other nations.[28] Trump rejoined the Republican Party in 2009.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,_2016
This current and most successful Trump candidacy started in 2015.
“Trump formally announced his candidacy for the upcoming race for president in the 2016 election on June 16, 2015. His announcement was held at a campaign rally at Trump Tower in New York City.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,_2016
Part of Mr. Trump’s success has come from his previous stardom on the reality television series “The Apprentice.” His catchphrase “You’re Fired” is known and quoted around the world. Many hope that he will be able to use that catch phrase (“you’re fired”) (at least metaphorically) to the entire United States Congress at his first state of the union address.
“Mr. Trump is the Emmy-nominated star and co-producer of the reality television series, “The Apprentice” which quickly became the number one show on television, making ratings history and receiving rave reviews and worldwide attention. “The Celebrity Apprentice” has met with great success as well, being one of the highest rated shows on television. The Apprentice’s record fourteenth season premiered in January, 2015. “You’re fired!” is listed as the third greatest television catchphrase of all time. In 2007, Mr. Trump received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he is among the highest paid public speakers in the world. The Apprentice has raised over $15 million for charity.” - https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
Mr. Trump’s campaign seems to have been modeled after his reality television series. He has made what seem to totally outlandish statements, which would be unthinkable to other “traditional” candidates (Republican or Democrat). There are many blogs and articles discussing why this campaign has been so successful. But the crux of the issue is that he seems to be stating what many Americans are thinking but refuse to say. This tactic certainly works on reality TV, and, in fact, seems to be the essence of reality TV. I believe that this is the year of the “reality TV presidential candidate.”
This unique campaign is in reality a “populist campaign,” as well. The term “populist” is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as:
1. a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people. (noun)
i. a person who holds, or who is concerned with, the views of ordinary people.
ii. (Populist) a member of the Populist Party, a US political party formed in 1891 that advocated the interests of labor and farmers, free coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, and government control of monopolies
2. of or relating to a populist or populists. (adjective)
Another aspect of Trump’s campaign which seems to be catching on with American voters is the idea of having a truly “outsider” in office. This is happening in both the Republican and Democratic parties. On the Democratic side, candidate Bernie Sanders has been very successful running for the presidency against a very well-known Hilary Clinton, former first lady and Secretary of State. This “outsider” concept seems to have been rolled into the “populist” concept with the line blurring between the two.
Candidates such as Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz all appeared to pale when compared to the “outsiders” Trump and Sanders. Their message was “flat and uninspiring.” It had the flavor of the “same old time worn political clichés and platitudes.” Even Clinton, with her wealth, political connections and notoriety, is struggling when compared to Sanders, especially among the younger voters.
It is easy to see that the American voters are truly “fed-up” and “disillusioned” with the existing “political elite.” These people, just like their masters, the top 1% (or 20% as shown below) have come close to killing the “golden goose” (the bottom 99%) from which their wealth has come. It is no coincidence that the top 1% (globally) have amassed over 50% of the world’s wealth and power in just a few short years.
“In 2014, the 1 percent held 48 percent of global wealth. But that doesn’t mean the other 52 percent was for the rest of us; most of it was controlled by the 20 wealthiest percent, leaving just 5.5 percent of global wealth for 80 percent of the world.” - http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/wealthiest-getting-wealthier-lobbying-lot/
The following is from an excellent video relating to wealth inequality in America (From: http://inequality.org/wealth-inequality-america/).
Both the Trump and Sanders campaigns have made it very clear by their popularity that the 99% want a change. Both men are “outsiders” and “populist” candidates. On the surface, it seems that they have very different messages. However, is what they are saying really what they believe, or what they need to say in order to be the “reality TV / Populist candidates.”? Without the outsider and populist label, neither candidate would be able to compete with the political elite entrenched in their respective political parties. They would not get noticed by the elite controlled main stream media (MSM).
Clearly, Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders have much more in common than is apparent by a casual glance. They both want to take office to change the political system. They are both clearly populist candidates, which do not necessarily espouse the views of their underlying parties. They both want to upend the existing control of the political system by the political and global elite.
It is also apparent that both Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders, as candidates, want to fundamentally change the economic inequality in America. They seem to want to reverse the Actual Distribution of Wealth in America (top line of graph) back toward what Americans Think the Distribution is (center line of the graph).
To accomplish both of those commendable goals, I propose that candidates Trump and Sanders combine forces, regardless of apparent political differences, and form one political team. To do this, I propose that Donald Trump ask Bernie Sanders to be his Vice Presidential running mate in the 2016 election. Besides being the Perfect 2016 Presidential Team, this would keep the 2016 election amusing for all of us, while we voters watch the political and economic elite, along with their main-stream media, scramble. Such a Presidential Team would be very appropriate and fitting in this year of “reality TV elections.”
Sincerely,
H. Court Young
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