October 19, 2016
Yesterday I watched two Trump rallies online while I was doing some schoolwork. Both were held in Colorado and there were thousands of supporters cheering him on. I could feel the energy coming from my laptop here in Massachusetts over 2000 miles away. It's a phenomenon which has been occurring for well over a year and as the final three weeks of the 2016 election lie ahead, one that shows no sign of stopping. According to Gateway Pundit , in August 2016 Trump held 22 rallies in which over 110,000 people came to throw their support behind him and his message. I attended his rally in Worcester MA in November of 2015 and the energy level even back then was incredible. The makeup of the crowd was interesting too. It was held at an arena, not a college, yet college students by the hundreds were there including my own daughter who went on her own and was fervently cheering him on. When I asked her why she was so supportive of Trump, her answer was the key to why he can actually win; "He is an outsider and he talks straight." In fact, that has been the appeal right along hasn't it? We have a person on the national stage who simply is not afraid to tell it like he sees it. Is he always right? No. But that adds to the charm because in those instances where his rhetoric was a little too harsh, he has shown he can soften up and be flexible. In other words, he is willing to listen to the experts he surrounds himself with. One such example comes to mind. A few days ago New Jersey Governor Chris Christie publicly chided him for not giving a good apology after the tapes. Yesterday Trump mentioned Christie as a great friend and good guy to have on his side. Trump also puts his foot in his mouth too. Yet, to his supporters, it is more proof of how much of an outsider he really is and not even close to a reason for them to pull away. To so many of the political experts, it is simply not possible for him to compete given his missteps, yet here he is.
He's also showing he is not afraid to go toe to toe with the establishment pick, Hillary Clinton, or unwilling to get in the mud with her. Some might think that has hurt him. I can't help but wonder if his opponents timed their vicious attacks too soon. Donald Trump is weathering a storm no other Republican candidate would have survived. Ask any of his biggest supporters and they will tell you that is what they craved for; a candidate who will not run in the face of conflict. Trump did not win over 16 other Republicans because of policies. He won because the electorate knew none of them could, or would, fight Clinton and the media on the right level. Romney, McCain and even Dole proved that, not too mention the weasels like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, who couldn't wait to turn on him the first chance they got.
So where does all of this leave Trump now, just under three weeks away from the election. By almost all accounts, he is down in the polls by about 6 or 7 points. There are a couple which show him leading or tied like the LA Times and Rasmussen, but most of the media dismisses those out of hand. Can he use tonight's debate to springboard a huge political comeback? Does he even have to? My point is, there are many factors which I believe are not being taken into account so far by the corporate media, longtime pundits and others who are so used to the election norms.
I mentioned I was watching yesterday's rallies online. The channel I was on, Reddit, listed over 40,000 viewers from across the country. This has been happening over and over again. Reddit is only one of many online streaming services available for free. Trump is driving a viewership major network sitcoms would drool over. Yet we hear none of this from the news coverage. In the last debate, Anderson Cooper tried to use Trump's familiarity with twitter as a negative point in his questions. Trump promptly turned that around and explained he has 31 million followers so it is a good way to get a message out, even at 3am. Cooper was at a loss because he, like so many others in his profession, just does not understand social media. And what about the polls themselves? One of the biggest stories out of this election cycle has been the ability of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump to bring millions and millions of new voters into the process. Most polls rely on voter lists from past elections to determine likely voters. That means they are not talking to those millions of new voters! They will claim they are using registration lists but in most counties, those lists are not updated for months after the elections.
Does this mean I do not believe the polls? No, I think Trump is behind. I also think he can win decisively if Clinton does not improve her performance. Trump is the outsider. This is a change election. Clinton represents everything wrong with the establishment. She is also trying to ride out the clock in the face of huge scandals involving her illegal activities as Secretary of State and with her foundation.
Yesterday Trump started to hit her hard on that and has now taken up the battle cry of "Drain The Swamp" in light of the clear corruption revelations by the FBI. If it sticks among his crowds, and if he can continue to show himself to be presidential as he has done this week, he can and will win. One thing is certain; the next three weeks are going to be exciting to us political junkies. Make plenty of popcorn, your going to need it!
