With the fallout from this year’s election sprawled out on magazine after magazine, it is useful to look past what has happened and into the why. There are so many possibilities and reasons that the election went as it did, so it can be helpful to focus on one aspect at a time.
The problem began almost immediately when Donald Trump announced his intention to campaign. It almost seemed like a joke at the time, a publicity stunt. He had no political experience and was arguably not qualified for the job. But in an attempt to lend some interest to the dry debates, the media overstepped its bounds. They gave him hours of free coverage, coverage that would undoubtedly save him billions of dollars in advertising. CNN aired many of his speeches and rallies in their entirely instead of cutting around certain comments like they would normally. America was given its new obsession.
He had no political experience and was arguably not qualified for the job. But in an attempt to lend some interest to the dry debates, the media overstepped its bounds. They gave him hours of free coverage, coverage that would undoubtedly save him billions of dollars in advertising. CNN aired many of his speeches and rallies in their entirely instead of cutting around certain comments like they would normally. America was given its new obsession.
CNN aired many of his speeches and rallies in their entirely instead of cutting around certain comments like they would normally. America was given its new obsession.
It is fairly well-known that these mercurial trends normally fade after a brief window. Nobody cares any longer about the lady the proudly exclaimed “ain’t nobody got time for that” just as no one will care why Daniel constantly wore his white Vans. But given that type of entertainment opportunity to a reality star was too much. Giving Donald Trump media coverage was like giving Morgan Freeman a microphone; everyone is going to stop and listen. Hate him or love him, you listen.
But given that type of entertainment opportunity to a reality star was too much. Giving Donald Trump media coverage was like giving Morgan Freeman a microphone; everyone is going to stop and listen. Hate him or love him, you listen.
Hillary Clinton with all her experience was poised to take over on her record alone. But then the election was transformed from politics into reality television.
She knew how to talk to ambassadors and how to come off well to visiting heads of state, but all of these duties were not aired for more than a handful of minutes. She was not used to playing to an audience that actually had a vested interest and an attention span of any meaningful length of time. Her job was not interesting but she was good at it.
Contrasted against a man who can play with the spotlight as easily as with a deck of cards, Hillary stood very little chance of beating him out with charisma. Her knowledge of policy and vision for this country was sound, but she did not appeal to the voters the way that Trump did.
Many of you reading will think that I am saying a direct, “I knew this would happen,” but that could not be farther from the truth. Hindsight is not always 20/20 and we will be looking at this election for decades. It is impossible to deny that Trump has charisma, even if it did not appeal to you in the slightest.
The outcome was too close to call previous to the vote. Both candidates had their own strengths and weaknesses. The media placing Donald Trump center stage to perform his stand-up comedy routine succeeded in only giving him a pulpit from which to preach. The Oval Office is a much higher pinnacle, let us just hope that the solemnity of the position prevents any more grabs for popularity.