Baby Trump has a Temper Tantrum
What would Donald Trump do to take down Donald Trump? He would call Donald Trump demeaning names. Names like "Spoiled Brat Trump".
Trump would taunt his opponent with snide put-downs. In the Trump formula the name calling has to be plausible by pointing out a characteristic that is arguably true, it has to delegitimize the subject of it, and it needs to be repeatable.
This observation and insight came my way from a college classmate, Ezra Gottheil, who suggested the Clinton campaign use the approach of pointing out the erratic and unmodulated behavior of Trump and naming it juvenile and childish:
There are many different ways this can be done. Words like "immature" can be sprinkled in with other negative adjectives, to whatever degree the speaker chooses. Other good ones, which may be used to describe his policies or actions or words, include "juvenile," "infantile," or "childish." Or you can refer to his actions as "tantrums," or say that he is "spoiled," or that his response is "a schoolyard taunt," or that he "needs a time out," or that he's acting as if someone has "taken his toys." Or a PAC can do a series of videos of an actor or cartoon of Little Donny speaking his own words in a childish voice." Ezra Gottheil.
"I'd like to invite comments on what I think might be a somewhat better way to go after Trump, a variation on Clinton's confrontation with his capabilities. Specifically, I think it might be better to lump all his negative characteristics, lack of seriousness, impulsiveness, hypersensitivity, and instability, as part his overarching immaturity. Basically, call him a big baby.
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| Cartoonists have picked up on this |
There are many different ways this can be done. Words like "immature" can be sprinkled in with other negative adjectives, to whatever degree the speaker chooses. Other good ones, which may be used to describe his policies or actions or words, include "juvenile," "infantile," or "childish." Or you can refer to his actions as "tantrums," or say that he is "spoiled," or that his response is "a schoolyard taunt," or that he "needs a time out," or that he's acting as if someone has "taken his toys." Or a PAC can do a series of videos of an actor or cartoon of Little Donny speaking his own words in a childish voice." Ezra Gottheil.
I think the approach has real merit as campaign craft. Trump's biography gives traction to the name "Spoiled Brat Trump." His unfiltered extemporaneous comments make the names "Childish Trump", "Juvenile Trump", "Teenage Trump Outburst" etc seem plausible.
I recommend this approach to the Clinton campaign, with two suggestions:
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1. Use surrogates for this. Hillary's brand is to be the grown up (without being the mean-teacher-scold.) Therefore she can not be the one to do the taunting. Taunting is what schoolboys do. The intention is to make "Schoolboy" the Trump brand, not the Hillary brand. Hillary needs to stay classy. Taunting is for surrogates to do.
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| No Stage Monitor |
2. Hillary needs to use a stage monitor, one of those speakers you see on the floor in front of performers pointing back at them, so they can better hear for themselves what the audience is hearing. Hillary must stop shouting and instead trust her microphone. Out of control school kids shout when they are angry or feel something forcefully. Again, the goal is to make childish behavior solely the Trump brand, not Hillary's. Hillary can be firm and resolute and passionate, but her brand is self-control, and shouting undermines this.
Conclusion: a sampler of political cartoons around this theme:
Conclusion: a sampler of political cartoons around this theme:
1 comment:
Just call him "Donnie". Makes him sound like a little kid. "Donnie said this, Donnie said that." At some point, he'll flip out and lose his mind. I love it when he goes nuts.
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