“SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL”
by Don Fredrick, ©2016, author of The Complete Obama Timeline
(Sep. 24, 2016) — At a September 21 rally in Toledo, Ohio, Donald Trump said, “Unless you show up and vote on November 8, I’ll tell you what: Nothing will change if you vote for her. You will be happy if you vote for Trump. That I can tell you. Big change, big difference.”
Trump’s message was brilliant in its simplicity: “Nothing will change if you vote for her.” He would be wise to repeat that statement all the way to election day—and at least several times during each of his three debates with Hillary Clinton. Trump is, of course, correct. Nothing will change for the better if Clinton is elected. Some Americans fully understand that, and Trump reinforces the thought. Others understand it only in their subconscious. For those in the latter group, Trump’s message moves the thought from their subconscious into their consciousness.
The statement, “You will be happy if you vote for Trump” is also brilliant. He does not say, “Vote for me.” He says Americans will be happy if they vote for him. The line is ingenious because it plants a strong image in the minds of the voters. It is an image they can not only readily imagine; it is a possibility they want to believe. (Obama used the same “power of suggestion” technique in his 2008 campaign.) Meanwhile, Clinton is busy promising the voters “free stuff” like free college educations and forgiveness of student loan debt—things many people want but which most people are intelligent enough to understand they will never receive.
Trump is essentially saying, “I will provide security, safety, and freedom. I will keep out the jihadist refugees. I will make sure the police protect you. I will keep the jobs in the United States. I will keep the taxes low. I will get ObamaCare and other bureaucracies out of your lives. The rest is up to you, but you are all capable of greatness if given a chance.” That is a simple but powerful message.
Clinton, on the other hand, is essentially saying, “You are incompetent morons who cannot succeed or even survive unless the government provides for you from cradle to grave.” That is also a simple but powerful message—but it goes against everything America stands for.
Trump treats the voters like individuals. Clinton treats them like members of a collective. Trump makes them feel good about themselves. Clinton makes them feel like shoeless beggars. Trump makes the voters feel worthy. Clinton makes the voters feel worthless. Trump gives them a lump in the throat. Clinton gives them a lump of coal and says, “Be grateful to me for it.” Trump makes them feel like victors after a battle. Clinton makes them feel like prisoners of war waiting in line for thin soup. On that basis alone, Trump should win in a landslide. If he does not, the shuffling in the soup lines will stretch from coast to coast.