Whenever the 2016 presidential campaign, and specifically Donald Trump is brought up in conversation, one of the first things I always hear are, “How is Trump getting so many votes?” and “Where are all these voters coming from?”
They are the questions that people all over the world are wondering – how has Trump gained so much support?
Well, there are three things that Trump is able to evoke emotion from his supporters and use to his advantage to promote his campaign: anger, fear, and a sense of American superiority.
1. Anger
Americans are angry. They are angry about the recession, the growth of income inequality, and most of all, the demise of what they believe is the American Dream. They want an outlet for this anger, something to which they can direct their fear, anger, and confusion for the demise of the middle class and precipitous growth of income inequality within the past few decades. Although he doesn’t necessarily provide viable solutions for America’s economic troubles, Trump provides the American people with a demographic of people to blame, and this demographic is everyone that is not a natural born citizen. Americans are afraid of losing the American Dream and Trump’s campaign allows for an outlet to this anger, rather than realistic solutions to the major issue of income inequality in this country.
2. Fear
The second sentiment to which Trump appeals is fear. Trump’s campaign feeds off the underlying fears of the American people. Americans are scared of many things, but three things in particular: the demise of the American Dream (attributed to immigration), terrorism, and the loss of free speech. Trump evokes these fears through his aggressive, ad hominem arguments and unsubstantiated accusations. Trump comes into the campaign as an anti-establishment candidate who provides solutions, however unrealistic and poorly planned these solutions may be. He talks of deporting the immigrants and building a wall, preventing Muslims from entering the country, and eradicating political correctness, all of which appeal to Americans’ fears.
3. American Superiority Complex
When talking about Americans’ superiority complex, the slogan “Make America Great Again” comes to mind. The slogan is based primarily on Trump’s anti-immigration platform and his plans to build a wall across the Mexican border. Many Americans tend to primarily attribute the precipitous rise in unemployment in the 20th century to immigration. Trump fans hate more than anything the thought of foreigners receiving more than natural born American citizens do, whether it be in jobs or any American opportunity. There is a constant sentiment among Trump supporters that the government is allowing immigrants to have an advantage over American citizens despite the clear disadvantages immigrants face such as lack of access to services such as Medicaid, welfare, and food stamps. Trump clearly uses the American superiority complex to his advantage by advertising his anti-immigration platform.
Trump represents something new for the American people; he represents a political, social, and cultural revolution. Trump is the outlet for the American people’s both latent and conspicuous feelings of anger, fear, and cultural superiority.
