The Trump Campaign is Pitch Perfect
Benjamin Adams dissects Trump’s 2024 campaign, arguing that the ridiculousness of his character might just secure a second Trump term.
Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day 2017: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Upwards of 150 million Americans will take to the polls in the coming week to vote in what is being billed as the most important US election in history. Prediction models have former president Donald Trump as the slight favourite over current vice president Kamala Harris. Having been voted out four years ago as the only president in recorded history to never reach the dizzying heights of a 50% approval rating, the possibility of Trump returning to the White House has left most sensible people scratching their heads, wondering how, exactly, it has come to this.
To answer this question, your correspondent investigates the ‘pitch’ of the Trump campaign, in every sense of the word, with the pillars of the campaign being understood through the four distinct definitions of the word ‘pitch’ - political translations provided.
Pitch: Playing field (Translation: the political landscape)
There is a fundamental mismatch in American elections. The leader of ‘the free world’ is chosen by only a small segment of it: those with American citizenship. What Americans and foreign observers alike should care about is the threat that Trump poses to democracy, foreshadowed by the events of 6 January 2021. Trump and his supporters, emboldened by a second term, could go one step further in 2025 in their efforts to cling onto power. The presidential term following this election is the first in recent history that may last beyond the four years stipulated by the constitution. Add to this the most belligerent global context since the end of the Cold War, and this could well be the most important US election in history. Americans are primarily concerned with the issues that affect their immediate lives. The economy, immigration, and healthcare dominate voter concerns, while the primary interests of outsiders - particularly foreign policy and climate change - fall out of view. With Americans looking inwards, focusing more on their own lives than the role of America on the world stage, the playing field opens up to an appeal to the people.
Pitch: Arguments and rhetoric used to persuade (Translation: the sales pitch)
“This is the core messaging of the Trump campaign: the Democratic establishment is the disease underlying all the problems Americans face.”
The simplest arguments are often the most effective. Trump, self-proclaimed man of the people, does his voters’ thinking for them. If you listen as Trump implores you to “believe me”, you will quickly be given the answer to all your problems. He will tell you that you don’t need to understand inflation, immigration, economic growth or the constraints on government spending. Conveniently, all of your problems have only one cause: the Democratic establishment, spearheaded by a “retarded b—-”, who “has just turned black”. If you are slow to fact check him, he will even convince you that “they’re letting in thousands of convicted murderers,” and have created “the worst economy ever”. This is the core messaging of the Trump campaign: the Democratic establishment is the disease underlying all the problems Americans face. All of your problems have only one cause, and there is only one solution: vote Trump.
Populism, the political strategy of appealing to ‘the people’ in opposition to the elites of the establishment, is a perfect strategy for Donald Trump, and here’s why. He will mess up. Without populism, the blunders Trump has made, and continues to make, would be politically unsalvageable. He wouldn’t be able to get away from the truth. But through the cloudy lens of populism, he can. Trump is a convicted felon, and has at least two more criminal cases looming. But of course he is the victim of a witch hunt: the establishment hates him! If he is acquitted in any of these cases, it is because he is innocent; but if convicted, it is only further evidence of the corruption of the system. Populism allows him to choose his explanation. The truth is brought in line with the narrative.
More genius rhetoric from the Trump campaign aims at motivating voters to make his victory in the upcoming election “too big to rig”. If Trump wins, the election result is genuine. If he loses, it’s rigged. This is a prominent instance of the Trump campaign provoking supporters to take action after an election defeat. If the election can’t be trusted, the people must take matters into their own hands. Refusal to accept defeat is a rejection of the democratic process, undermining voting rights and political freedom. In light of 6 January 2021, this is the element of the campaign your correspondent finds most disturbing.
This election is a contest between another rich, white man and a Black Indian American woman. If Harris wins, she will be the first female president in American history, and the first Indian American president, the embodiment of social mobility. Yet, by painting Trump as the victim, the Trump campaign has managed to spin the narrative on its head. To many voters, he is now the underdog - the ‘comeback kid’.
“What could have been a fatal blow to Trump and his campaign proved to be its life force, feeding the narrative that he is a victim of the establishment.”
In July, during Trump’s speech at a rally in the swing state of Pennsylvania, the Trump campaign received what could be mistaken for a silver bullet. In fact, it was a real bullet, fired from the gun of a would-be assassin. As if perfectly orchestrated, the bullet clipped the top of Trump’s ear, creating just enough drama and blood to allow for the highest possible ratio of cinematic presidential bravery to bodily damage done. Photos of Trump, fist raised, blood streaming down his head, as he screams “fight! Fight! Fight!” may well be remembered as the pivotal moment of the 2024 election. They couldn’t have staged a better publicity stunt if they tried. What could have been a fatal blow to Trump and his campaign proved to be its life force, feeding the narrative that he is a victim of the establishment. Somehow living to fight another day, it is hard to dispute that the powers that be seem to be looking favourably upon him.
James McNellis from Washington, DC, United States, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Pitch: Rotational motion that does not drive a body forward but spins it about an axis (Translation: distraction tactics)
Trump is far from the first populist. Politicians have campaigned for votes for some 2500 years, meaning that most meaningful innovations in politics are adaptations of age-old ideas to new contexts. The Trump campaign has been masterful in combining good old populism with the digital age of sound bites and audience-capturing social media algorithms. His ultimate trump card is his strategy of distraction.
“There is so much about Trump that is outrageous - ridiculous, even - that critics have no end of things to talk about. What they don’t realise is that they are falling right into the trap.”
And who could be more distracting than Donald Trump? Potentially the least serious presidential candidate of all time, he has turned politics into a spectacle of entertainment. Candidates no longer debate policy; they hurl insults at one another. At his rallies, he doesn’t discuss his presidential plans (if he has more than a concept of them); he sings and dances. At a Philadelphia rally in October, he gave up all pretence of serious discussion and played Ave Maria for upwards of half an hour. There is so much about Trump that is outrageous - ridiculous, even - that critics have no end of things to talk about. What they don’t realise is that they are falling right into the trap. Commentators consume all the airtime on their shows, and armchair critics all the air in their living rooms, complaining about the latest ridiculous episode on the Donald Trump Show, leaving no space to talk about his policies. It’s all part of the plan, with the Trump campaign knowing that the policies - the things that really matter - are what let Trump down.
They have expertly combined the broad brush strokes of populism with dazzling pops of colour, continually drawing the eye away from what really matters: the detail. Trump’s policies must be hidden from the light of day at all costs. Bill Clinton summarised the phenomenon last week, saying “he just needs to keep people from thinking for another twelve days”. Now it is down to two.
Pitch: The frequency of pressure-wave vibration in sound (Translation: Trump’s trademark intonation)
“Trump, the avoidant partner, pulls in his submissive counterparts by giving them just enough to hold onto, but never enough to satisfy them.”
As brilliant as this political messaging is, it can only be as successful as its mode of delivery allows. Various linguists have analysed the variations in Trump’s pitch as he speaks, often converging on his characteristic level tone, which is jargon for his droning, monotonic spiels. Psychologists interpret this as a sign of detachment, as it appears to lack emphasis and emotion. Such detachment is often observed in individuals with high social status, implying a refusal to engage with the lower-status listener. What it really does, though, is add more emphasis and excitement when emotion (in the form of pitch variation) is finally given. The personality cult around Donald Trump is becoming more and more intense, increasingly resembling a toxic relationship. Trump, the avoidant partner, pulls in his submissive counterparts by giving them just enough to hold onto, but never enough to satisfy them.
Supporters usually listen to Trump speak for at least an hour, yearning for him to give them something to latch onto. When he does finally raise the tone of his voice in what seems like an emotional outburst, they passionately applaud and cheer, revelling in the opportunity to finally connect with him. The campaign narrative of Trump as the people’s saviour is brought to life and punctuated by his trademark intonation. It’s a critical cog in the rhetorical machine designed and directed by the Republicans’ head man.
The political landscape, the campaign’s messaging, Trump’s expert delivery and distraction tactics may just have conspired to produce the perfect storm. With the power of populism, he has papered over his political blunders to become the predicted favourite for another four years of presidency. If he didn’t have his pitch perfect before, another 428 days of presidential golfing may just get it there.