Let me start with a disclaimer: I am NOT a Trump supporter.

Now, before you stop reading, or have any other emotional reaction, let me say that being a political science major has taught me to look at all candidates objectively. All candidates have both good and bad qualities. People just respond to different aspects of candidates differently. That being said, I think it only fair you know where I stand in case there are charges of bias against the article. I will not be arguing for or against anything, I will simply be calling things like I see them.

Also, I know that Trump articles have been overdone and people can get tired of reading them. However, I believe that I have come up with a theory that almost explains everything strange or confusing that Trump has ever done. Now, that is a bold claim, but ever since I have looked at Trump in this new light, everything he has done has actually, well, made sense, at least in terms of his image and campaign. No matter which side of the Trump Train Tracks we are on, I think at one point we have all scratched our heads and wondered why he did something or why he would say something so outrageous. Now, I think I have the answer.

The Business Theory of Trump

I do not think that Donald Trump really wants to build a wall. I do not think he really wants to deport all illegal aliens. I do not think he really wants to ban all Muslims from entering the country, leave NATO, or even repeal Obamacare. The reason why I think this is because Trump is first and foremost a businessman. When I looked at him solely in this light, everything started to come together. I developed what I call the Business Theory of Donald Trump.

When a used-car salesman needs to make a sale, and he has a potential buyer for a car, he (or she) researches the value of the car (if he doesn't know it already) and comes up with a price range that would allow him to make a profit and keep the car affordable for the buyer. However, when he presents the offer to the customer, the price is usually considerably higher than the initial price range he came up with. This way, the customer can negotiate the price down, and the salesman can still sell the car in his price range, thus maximizing his profits. The salesman is a businessman who knows that no matter what price he offers, he will probably have to negotiate it to a lower price.

Trump, I believe, is doing the exact same thing in his campaign. He is taking extreme positions in order to negotiate to something more reasonable and acceptable. Rather than getting his wall, he may get stepped up border patrol. Instead of leaving NATO, he may renegotiate the alliance. Instead of banning Muslims, he may get better immigration screening. Trump is a businessman who understands "the art of the deal."

Now, he has two advantages by doing this. Instead of maximizing profits, which is the goal for the used car salesman, Trump has other motives for doing this. First of all, his extreme positions immediately garner him media attention. Trump news dominates media coverage. I find myself googling Trump's name at least once a day to see if he said anything unusual. In his case, all press really is good press. The more he gets his name out there, the less time there is available on the news for other candidates. Trump may claim to not like the media, but he knows EXACTLY what he is doing. Secondly, this allows Trump to blame other people in case of failure on some issues. It is an insurance in case he actually does become president. When a new budget is announced, and the funding for a new wall along the border is NOT included, Trump can claim that the lack of the wall was the sacrifice in getting other policy preferences passed. He can also blame others at the negotiating table for being incompetent or stubborn. All the heat could potentially be taken off of him and placed on other people. Even though he may lose those policy battles, he could still be heralded as a hero.

Donald Trump is a very smart man. Personally, I don't agree with him on his policies, but his use of the media and name recognition is truly genius. I think the Business Theory really helps me wrap my head around what Donald Trump does and why he does it. The rise of Donald Trump has caused many political scientists to throw out longstanding, existing theories. Perhaps looking at Trump in this new light will help us all understand what goes on in his head.