Top 10 Trump Rules

1. Money changes everything.

If Donald Trump were poor, he’d have no traction. He gets attention, and in many cases a pass, because he’s a billionaire. That’s the nation we live in, one in which the rich have the power and the poor believe the loaded are better than they are. Or, that they too can become a billionaire, if they just work hard enough, even though statistically odds of upgrading are better in Canada and Europe. The rich have been crapping on the downtrodden poor for so long they believe it. We watch the Kardashians, we believe Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are saints, is it any wonder people look up to Donald Trump?

2. Television is the most powerful medium in America.

It turned Howard Stern into a household name and it did the same for Donald Trump. If you’re on television you’re a star. What is the goal of the YouTube and Vine stars? To be on TV! It’s a hurdle that’s hard to jump. If Snooki and Kim Kardashian could be built by television, it’s not hard to understand Trump’s mindshare/traction.

3. Runaway media.

Insiders control the story, at least they believe they do. They said Trump was dead after his comments about McCain, ditto regarding his comments about Megyn Kelly. But what the internet era has taught us is that stories outside the usual narrative start online and traditional news media is the last to come on board. And that traditional news media is often wrong. And that what it likes best is ratings. Trump is irrelevant, soon to be forgotten, a footnote in history, even smaller than that of Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, but don’t expect any perspective from the media.

4. Media lasts longer than those it covers.

Trump will long be forgotten whilst Megyn Kelly continues to testify. Keeping the story going is nearly impossible, which is why Kim Kardashian tweeted a naked pregnant photo today. She wants to stay in the public eye, and it’s hard to do this if you’re not outrageous. Want to get mindshare? Create a new story every day, the crazier the better. Drake drops mixtapes while old wave acts work the same album for years. That’s a great way to be forgotten. What Taylor Swift does best is keep her name in the news. You should follow her example if you want a lasting career. Then again, getting started is so difficult, it’s best to be on TV! (But don’t think being on late night shows, certainly other than Fallon, makes a difference. And never forget that YouTube is narrowcasting, you may have a 100 million views, but it’s to a self-selected group, TV allows you to reach beyond them.)

5. Fox News is not as powerful as you think.

It blinked. Trump brought the outlet to its knees. Fox only mentioned Trump’s Megyn Kelly blood comments once, CNN more than 50 times. Read here

(Furthermore, ever since Jeff Bezos bought the “Washington Post” it has greatly improved. How did he do this? BY SPENDING MONEY! Our entire nation has a hedge fund mind-set. Reduce head count, strip the assets, take out your share and then pawn whatever’s left on the next loser. You make money by spending money, and he who is cutting back is ultimately losing.)

6. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Sports is the best example, there they call it “working the ref.” That’s what Trump has done here, he’s bitched loudly to get the media to blink, Fox certainly has (once again, read that WaPo article linked to above). Trump has belly-flopped like an NBA player, he’s bitched and whined and has refused to go away, has refused to apologize, he’s the perfect American, where no one makes a mistake and bluster is everything, and you wonder why our nation is in trouble…no one can learn anything, no one can adjust their opinion, no one can say they’re wrong.

7. Don’t blink.

It may be a suicide mission, but you can’t give up, you can’t question your desire and your goal, that’s how you break through the noise. Once you’ve made it you may be revealed to be a buffoon, but few make it. Trump has been trying to run for President for decades, this is the first time it’s worked.

8. Gimme some truth.

Actually, I don’t believe Trump believes all of what he says. He’s looking at endgame, and he knows people are frustrated by politicians and want to hear something that sounds passionate, from the inside. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat but when Hillary Clinton said her favorite book was the Bible my eyes rolled and I prayed someone else would run. Trump appears to be telling his truth. Clinton appears to be triangulating. If you want to succeed today you must have the appearance of authenticity, credibility is even better, but that’s even harder to achieve. Trump resonates with a minor part of the public which is sick of being cast aside, which knows its reality and wants to believe someone else is talking about it.

9. We live in a star economy.

I watched the debate because Trump was on it, without him I’m passing. And even though he was belligerent, he had a patina of real, he didn’t seem to be adjusting to placate a theoretical voter who might not even exist. His competitors were so phony and so FOS that I was rolling my eyes.

10. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Trump may have a bad hairstyle, but he looked more put together than so many of his compatriots, who were not wearing expensive suits and furthermore had worse hair, transplants and combovers and what exactly is that on the front of Rand Paul’s head? If you want our respect, dress for success. Nixon lost to Kennedy because he looked like a schlump, and these guys don’t even get a stylist. I don’t want someone who doesn’t understand the game they’re playing. Schlumpiness is Bernie Sanders’s shtick, but aren’t the Republicans supposed to be the party of the rich? And put together?

PreviouslyTrump Rules

 

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What's been said:

Discussions found on the web:
  1. bagjoe commented on Aug 12

    In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man IS king – but he has no DEPTH PERCEPTION!

    • Jojo commented on Aug 12

      Neither do the blind people! [lol]

  2. PrahaPartizan commented on Aug 12

    “America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
    –Attributed to Clemenceau by Hans Bendix, in “Merry Christmas, America!” The Saturday Review of Literature (1 December 1945), p. 9

    Clemenceau died in 1929. How did he observe something so accurate a century before it became so horrifyingly obvious? Instead of the Pax Americana we’ve experienced the Pox Americana.

    • ilsm commented on Aug 12

      Native American genocide, Spanish war, suppression of Philippines/Moros, profiting from WWI…………

  3. NoKidding commented on Aug 12

    Trump did not start life with anything remotely close to the money it takes to do what he’s doing.

    Kim Kardashian made it the same way Tori Spelling did.

    If Megyn Kelly puts on ten pounds she’s done. If she stays skinny, the plastic surgery starts at age 35. That isn’t power.

    • jbegan commented on Aug 12

      I met a guy recently who grew up in the poorer areas of New York. He had some very cutting remarks about Trump’s dad ‘Fred’ and how he gutted neighborhoods to build wealth. Donald has just piggybacked on his father’s practices.

      You can read the cleaner version here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Trump

  4. theexpertisin commented on Aug 12

    It see to me Trump and Hillary Clinton have a lot in common.That’s why I hope the 2016 race is between two other candidates.

    • Low Budget Dave commented on Aug 12

      Trump can describe problems with great conviction, but he doesn’t have any solutions. This makes him similar to every Democratic candidate,and identical to every Republican.

  5. cjb commented on Aug 12

    I read a quote a few weeks ago that went something like this; In America, the poor believe they are millionaires who have just hit a string of bad luck.
    If anyone knows the exact quote and who said it, please post.

    • RW commented on Aug 12

      John Steinbeck’s quip comes pretty close: “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”

    • cjb commented on Aug 12

      I may have read someones paraphrasing of that quote

  6. VennData commented on Aug 12

    #10 The handlers tell them to look like the Trailer Park GOP base. Ridiculous

  7. Seaton commented on Aug 12

    Spot-on. Last 2 sentences, & VennData above, have got it right. Sigh. Perhaps “Will Mcavoy, ALN News” of “The Newsroom” will run, please?

  8. LeftCoastIndependent commented on Aug 12

    Haha! That’s the best one you have come up with yet. I knew this Con circus would be entertaining. And Trump is the ring master. The grumpy old white man put Blondie in her place quick. To be honest, it’s hard to figure Trump. He changes his opinion so much, it makes you wonder if he really is a Hillary supporter and is just doing this to spoil the GOP show. IDK. Anyway, can’t wait for the Crat circus to start.

  9. jbegan commented on Aug 12

    “That’s the nation we live in, one in which the rich have the power and the poor believe the loaded are better than they are. Or, that they too can become a billionaire, if they just work hard enough..” Yep! F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” meme trundles on..and on…and on…

  10. jbegan commented on Aug 12

    Just want to add…What a fine accumulation of pithy comments in this article. Kudos. Nicely done.

  11. ilsm commented on Aug 12

    Trump does what good communicators do seamlessly: not allow the media to direct the conversation.

    Trump pulls no punches while a skilled politician redirects the leading question.

    Part of Trump’s appeal is he would be browbeat by Megyn Kelly!

  12. SolomonClark commented on Aug 12

    Trump must be appealing to a wider audience: I saw a Trump for President bumper sticker on a Chevy Volt earlier this week.

    • Don H commented on Aug 13

      If you think that’s weird, out on the road today, I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.

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