Americans are in an ugly mood. They are mad as hell and they won’t take it anymore. That is why a clown like Donald Trump won New Hampshire and have been leading in the polls among Republican candidates for months.
But in the latest poll, Trump has fallen behind Ted Cruz, who gets 28% support as compared to Trump’s 26%. How did Trump come so far in the first place?
Firstly, there is the economy. While the unemployment rate has gone down, the labor participation rate is the lowest in 38 years. Those who have given up looking for work are not counted as unemployed.
The past seven years of President Barack Obama have created national anxiety. About 64% of Americans say that the country is headed in the wrong direction as compared to 29% who say it is headed in the right direction.
This explains why there is a rage against illegal immigrants that Trump tapped on. Blue collar workers feel the threat to their jobs more than rich liberals who are happy to employ cheap Mexican labor as domestic helpers.
Trump’s signature issue is to send the illegal immigrants home. Besides this, his refreshing politically correct statements and insults differentiated him from conventional politicians. Americans have lost faith in their politicians and are looking for someone different. They voted Republicans in the Congressional elections and nothing seems to have changed.
The Republicans won in part by promising to rein in spending and cut taxes. But in the end, they had to cut a deal with President Obama. Many Republican politicians promised to defund the unpopular ObamaCare, but nothing happened.
That was why they latched on to Trump, who is not a professional politician but a successful businessman. But Trump is not a Republican at heart, let alone a Conservative. At times, he sounds like a Democrat. Trump is for single-payer medical care. He had donated money to Hillary Clinton’s previous campaigns.
But what broke the Trumpian camel’s back was saying in an interview that President George Bush lied to get the US into a war in Iraq. Bush is still respected among Republicans. Trump’s views are more in keeping with far left groups like Code Pink or MoveOn.org. I think his popularity is on the way down. People are beginning to see him for what he really is: A Democrat in Republican clothing.
A successful businessman and author, Robert H. Lee has spent years extensively researching the history of nations for his book Saving Democracy from Suicide. (LINK: www.savingdemocracyfromsuicide.com) A self-professed Americaphile, Lee resides in Singapore with his family, but he previous lived in the United States where he went to the University of Michigan for his MBA.