One of the weirdest aspects of the 2016 US Presidential Election is that nothing hurts Donald Trump. Whatever he says or does, no scandal has had any lasting impact on his candidacy.
For an overview of these scandals, please see the 25 September 2016 episode of John Oliver‘s HBO Last Week Tonight show.
Hence, the title of this blog and this State cartoon by Robert Ariail: Teflon Trump.
During a speech on 21 September 2016, Hillary Clinton also referred to this phenomenon: “Having said all this, ‘Why aren’t I 50 points ahead?’ you might ask?” (eg, WP).
There are various explanations for the Teflon Trump phenomenon:
– the extreme unlikeability of both candidates which prevents a crossover to the other candidate;
– the extreme belief in Donald Trump’s Truth (see my False Prophets blog);
– the last American election for retaining White Supremacy (see my Unbearable blog);
– politics is the art of believing rather than lying (see my 13 September 2016 blog);
– Donald Trump covers 5 of the 7 extreme belief systems (see my 22 August 2016 blog).
Both candidates are now almost equal in the polls. That leaves the decision to “undecided voters”. Reuters: “Today, only 7% of likely voters are truly undecided. They have no firm candidate preference or even strong party affiliation. That’s 9 million people out of 235 million eligible to vote”. Reuters profiles 6 of these undecided voters in 6 different American states. Common themes: (lack of) compromising, healthcare, income, jobs, security, and the lesser of 2 evils.
In my 31 March 2016 blog, I explained why opinions are stronger than facts. Based on facts, Clinton would win. Based on (false) opinions, Trump would clearly win. The 30 September 2016 PolitiFact comparison between Clinton and Trump is interesting evidence for my thesis.
In 1972, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote one of their famous songs: If you don’t know me by now (you will never, never, never know me). This song also applies to the political deadlock between Clinton and Trump.
Once again, I’m reminded of this famous Albert Einstein quote: Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe!
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – If you don’t know me by now (1972)
artists, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
Scandals – John Oliver – HBO Last Week Tonight – 25 September 2016
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