In March I explained in-depth how Donald Trump had already won the Presidency by implementing almost every strategy found in 'The Art of War' during the Republican Primaries.
Needless to say I was right. Hillary had no plan against Trump. She used the same attacks against Trump that his Republican rivals did: he's a bigot, a racist, a blah blah blah. That didn't work in the primaries and it didn't work in the general election.
As I stated back in March there is no political strategy to beat Trump. He's not playing by political rules, that's the whole point. I did see two paths to beating him, and neither was about Hillary:
The first strategy was Bernie winning the Democratic Primaries. He had the swag, the charisma, the cuddly Grandpa mentality. His appeal was the same as that of Biden: Go-lucky, real, passionate. Unfortunately he was running against the Clinton Machine/DNC and he got churned out like a hunk of beef.
The second strategy was Bernie, yes THAT Bernie, again. He should have been the VP even though Hillary leans center way more than progressive. Her inability to negotiate was her undoing. It's not just about the Bernie voters that refused to vote Hillary, it was about their enthusiasm. Like it or not they were a ground-game unlike anything anyone's ever seen. The ridiculous amount of donations, the millions of phone calls, the millions of doors knocked. Their passion was most needed against Trump.
Yes, Bernie campaigned for Hillary during the general election, but it was no longer the same. Bernie used to be their guy, their champion that could fight against the 1%, for $15 minimum wage, free healthcare, and free tuition. He couldn't do that while campaigning for Hillary without being on the ballot because everyone knew she didn't really care about any of that. So what was Hillary left with? No passion, no drive, no enthusiasm, no Bernie, no Presidency. She was too proud, and that, ladies and gents, is what Trump exposed to perfection. Yes folks, Trump is a master strategist, and he knew Hillary's weakness was her stoic character. During the campaign you often heard Hillary mention that the Republicans have been attacking her for 30 years and never found anything to hurt her. She wore that as a badge of honor, she thought that made her stronger. But, as Trump had done in the Republican Primaries, he took the quality his opponents covet most and he turned it on its head.
Crooked Hillary. Hillary Rotten Clinton. Drain the Swamp. Lock her up.
Much like Picasso's abstract paintings, Trump's brush strokes made little sense to most people. Yes, she's a political power house, yes she's a stalwart in her convictions. But that also makes her stiff in her beliefs. The world is ever-changing, how can someone maintain their convictions for 30+ years unless they're crooked and a cheat? How can they maintain power with the elites unless their entire cesspool of a swamp was also polluted? Lock her up.
Trump took her stoicism and grounded it into a pulp. His first attack on Hillary during the general election was that "If she wasn't playing the woman card she wouldn't even get 5% of the vote." BOOM, head shot. How did Hillary respond? "If fighting for women's rights and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal. Me. IN!"
This played perfectly into Trump's hand. He knew she'd be defiant in being a woman and take that attack personally. He used her soundbites to wedge a gap between men and women voters. The male vote wasn't 2:1 for Trump because they were misogynists, it was because Hillary's words excluded their existence. Remember 'The Art of War'? It's all about divide and conquer. When did Hillary ever talk about men's issues? Never. While Hillary thought she was being stoic in protecting the woman card, Trump was actually playing the man card.
I could go on and on, but truth be told I haven't slept yet and I've written too much as is. If you're interested in reading more I'll post again tomorrow. There's plenty to talk about. How Trump had more Hispanic voters than any Republican in history, how Trump had more LGBT voters than any Republican in history (even though his VP is the biggest anti-LGBT in politics), or how Trump ended up with 48% of the woman vote even after those Access Hollywood tapes.
Regardless of how you feel about the election, it truly was a masterful performance by Donald Trump. One that will go down in history as not only the most shocking victory, but I would dare say the most expertly perfected victory in US political history.
