5月17日Trump赢得Oregon后,成为有史以来共和党在初选中获得最多选票的候选人.之前的最高记录是George Bush 2000年的一千八十万票,Trump现已有一千一百一十万票,而且初选还没结束.Trump竞选成绩令所有人吃惊,更让他的支持者无比骄傲,他以一个门外汉的身份(the ultimate outsider),不仅打败所有党内选手(大多为州长或议员,其中不乏资历显赫,或有草根基础的候选人),而且提前民主党拿到提名,当政治老手Hillary (the establishment favorite) 和Sanders打的不可开交,伤透脑筋时,他已公布了最高法院大法官的提名名单,并和RNC宣布关于筹款的联合协议,这些做法让他进一步修复党内关系.另外如果Hillary不动用后台,即super-delegates(这些super-delegates不是选举产生的,是内定, Hillary有500多名,Sanders只有40名),光凭pledged delegates,可以确定她无法达到提名需要的数目,那么Trump就是唯一通过公平竞争得到提名资格的人.连反对他的人都不得不承认:He won fair and square.
他是如何做到的? 我的答案是: 群众运动(movement). 媒体专家曾经说竞选靠的是零售推销retail marketing,如市厅讲座(town hall), 和民众面对面谈话,打电话,甚至上门拉票,专家还说造势大会(rally)是air marketing,不能变成选票.但Trump几乎没有进行retail marketing,他的竞选活动除了媒体采访就是在每个州举办造势大会(rally).事实证明Trump的竞选方式效率之高,花费之少,打破了传统模式和预言.
造势大会反映了民众的热情程度,但这只是选举中人民对候选人反响的缩影.从Twitter, Facebook,或中文网络如文学城评论中不难发现美国甚至世界人民对这个选举表现了前所未有的兴趣, 不难察觉Trump movement民间声势.与此同时主流媒体扮演了一个重要的角色,从他宣布竞选开始,除了周末晚上,每天24小时主流电视台都把焦点对向他,专家座谈(panel)中0-1个支持者面对3-6个反对者是家常便饭,记忆里媒体从来没对任何人或任何事件,如此长期报道和任意丑化.让媒体气恼的是 Trump战胜了舆论,战胜了主流文化和精英思想,从最不符合公众标准的总统候选人变成人气不断上升的候选人,对这个结果媒体可谓功不可没,精英们丧心病狂的表现让人们看到一个难能可贵坚持己见的人,当今社会需要这样的领导人,他不仅勇敢,还足智多谋,不断给我们惊喜,正如他所说:我们会赢个没完没了,直到你说:总统,我们赢太多了,能不能不要赢了,我说:不行,我们要赢下去,直到我们的国家变得强大.(We are going to win, win, win, we are going to win with military, we are going to win with border, we are going to win with trade, we will win so much that some of you will say: please, Mr. President, let’s not have so much wins, and I’m going to say: I’m sorry, but we are going to keep on winning until we Make America Great Again!—Trump’s speech at NRA)
从某种意义上,这个运动-Trump movement-诞生于人们对政治正确的重新认识,有头脑的人早已对充斥政治正确的社会感到压抑,不满甚至愤怒,但从来没有人,特别是政治人物,敢于说出真实想法,所以当Trump站在政治舞台上毫无惧色向政治正确伪装下的攻击奋力回击,他不是在为自己战斗,他是为沉默的大众战斗,为他们说出积压内心的话.当他当面指出并反击FOX,CNN,ABC主持人的刁难或是New York Times的诬蔑,当他拒绝收回争议性的言论(修建边墙,暂时严禁穆斯林教徒进入美国,指责Bush政府说谎,用核武器为理由把美国带入中东地区的持久战争),当他没有立刻在电视采访中谴责支持他的白人之上论的组织(White Supremacist),也没有屈服于舆论而做出申辩或反对种族歧视的声明,当他不肯解雇受到刑事指控的竞选经理(后来经过警方查证,撤消指控,这个过程中媒体一直向他施加压力,但Trump始终坚持1.经理没有错2.他不能出于舆论压力而毁了这个人的一生.另外他主动把关键证据-录像带-交给警察,并告诉他们”做你们认为正确的事”), 当他成为准提名人(Presumptive Nominee)后,仍然拒绝扮演道貌岸然的政客形象,对敏感话题果断表达立场…这一切形成Trump与众不同,令人难忘的竞选之路和属于他的运动- Trump movement.
他是当今第一个站在舆论锋尖上和当权派,利益集团, 主流社会叫板的政治人物,并在辱骂声中轻松打败对手,赢得一场又一场竞赛.无论在政治辩论中,媒体采访中,竞选演说中,他只做自己,不管别人嘲笑或批评,他不道歉,不讨好,不屈服,我们从没有见过这样的候选人,从来没有经历过这样的选举,不管媒体怎么对他妖魔化,选民认定Trump就是最好的总统人选. 许多人活了一辈子,第一次关注选举,第一次去竞选大会花许多时间等候见候选人,第一次去投票站为他们喜爱的候选人投票,许多人有一个共同的心声:他是我们等待了一生的领导人,这次的选举是一生中才有一次的机会 (He is once-in-a-lifetime political leader. This is once-in-a-lifetime election.)
除了对政治正确的态度引起共鸣,Trump movement的出现还有其他原因,简单说三点:想象力,清除选举舞弊,为人民说话. 这个选举中,人民想要有才华和真诚的领导人,而不是一个背台词的职业政客, Hillary Clinton可能是最没有想象力的候选人了,她演说永远像在念台词,做作,没有感染力,她在CNN town hall中自己承认这一点(She said unlike her husband, she doesn’t know how to run an imaginative campaign.) 这方面, Bernie Sanders是成功的, 他竞选理念和演说风格感染了很多人, (“百分之九十的人口拥有的财富等同于千分之一的人口(0.1%)的财富 (Top 1/10th of 1 percent today in America owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%).”)令支持他的民众,特别是年轻人满怀热情. Trump的演说虽然没有那么慷慨激昂,没有政策细节,被媒体批评前后矛盾,事实不准确,但大家有一个共识:他说的是我们的心里话,说的我们饭桌上的话题.大家也许宁愿要一个了解我们想法的人,而不要一个机械化的政策专家.
关于选举舞弊的问题,Trump最先提出,并因为反映出选民心声,为他带来竞选中的转机,他不但大力批评这个党派制度,而且用实际行动证明他的话:只有打败这个作弊制度才有权力进行体制改革(only after beating the rigged system, you can reform the system.) 最近Sanders也谈到民主党的选举制度对外来者的不公平,称这是一个作弊的制度(It’s a rigged system). 媒体开玩笑,说他抄袭了Trump的观点,(took a page out of Trump’s playbook,) 事实是他们二人都不被党内建制派当成自己人,受到不公平的待遇,即对阻挡外来者所设的的规定(rules stacked against outsiders).差别是Trump及时抓住了选民的心,把这个选民一致反感的问题作为竞选话题.四月初,他输掉Wisconsin初选,随后在由党内选择代表而没有选举的Colorado, Wyoming几乎没有得到一个代表(delegates),而且已经赢得初选的州里本属于他的代表(delegates)如果需要再次投票表决,这些代表大多数不会为他投票,选情最艰难时,他发表文章阐述他对制度改革的观念(Let Me Ask America a Question),在竞选活动中不停谈到这个问题,此后他的支持率一路上升,而他的对手投机取巧,玩弄权术的行动引发选民不满,从而转向Trump,支持他对于民主选举的呼吁,强大的支持让他打败了选举舞弊,打败了对外来者不利的规定,逆流而上,在党内众多反对势力中成为准提名人.Sanders能否步其后尘,要看他的运气了,初选即将结束,留给他的时间不多了.
最后一点就是选举最主要的动力:为人民发言,为人民而战,这是民主选举的关键但未必是每个选举的主题. 前段时间在Face of Nation里,Trump说”I don’t care about the game, I care about the people.”(我不在乎政治游戏,我在乎的是人民), 在CNN town hall 里,他说”I don’t want his (Ted Cruz) support, I don’t need his support. I only want your (people’s) support” (我不想得到,也不需要他(竞选对手)的支持,我只想得到人民的支持).他能够在初选后期突破预言的天花板,获得大多数选民的认同和支持(从纽约初选开始,连续赢得10个州的所有选区超过60%选民)和他对公平选举的态度有着密切关系.他已经以实际行动打败体制,并将继续改进体制. Trump movement最重要的意义就在于告诉大家总统不是统治者,而是人民的代言人(He said “I’m just the messenger for people.” Also said “you will be proud of your President, but that doesn’t matter. I want you to be proud of your country.”)总统的任命即人民的任命(mandate from the people),这是总统的职责.相信他会带着这个使命完成竞选,当选总统,带领美国改写历史,实现他对人民的承诺.
Trump最近提出,Sanders作为Independent参选,三个候选人站一个辩论舞台上,看看谁最有能力说服大众,谁的message最能引起共鸣,谁的品格最符合老百姓的期望,谁最经得起考验.相信如果是三个人的竞争,一定更为精彩,结果也更有说服力. 当然,我相信最后的胜利者还是Trump,因为这过去十个月里,他比任何人接受的考验都更严峻, 他以一个人的力量颠覆旧观念,摆脱政治束缚,修改不合理制度,挑战当权派精英,而他所创造的奇迹证实了这个选举属于他,属于曾经沉默如今不再沉默的大众.
******************************************************************
最近Trump针对反对他的人发表的几个声明,独特的风格让人忍俊不禁, 简单明了,加上一点调侃,恰到好处表达立场,又让对手无话可说.摘录如下:
- May 05, 2016 -
Donald J. Trump Responds to Speaker Paul Ryan (moments after Ryan’s breaking comments to CNN that he was not ready to support Trump who had just become the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. He said the burden was on the presumptive nominee to unify the party.)
I am not ready to support Speaker Ryan’s agenda. Perhaps in the future we can work together and come to an agreement about what is best for the American people. They have been treated so badly for so long that it is about time for politicians to put them first!
- May 19, 2016 -
Donald J. Trump Response to Hillary Clinton (after Clinton talked to CNN in an interview after it was assumed terrorism took down an Egyptian flight. Among other derogatory comments, Clinton called Trump ”disqualified” to be President.)
The fact that Hillary thinks the temporary Muslim ban, which she calls the “Muslim ban”, promotes terrorism, proves Bernie Sanders was correct when he said she is not qualified to be President.
Look at the carnage all over the world including the World Trade Center, San Bernardino, Paris, the USS Cole, Brussels and an unlimited number of other places. She and our totally ignorant President won’t even use the term Radical Islamic Terrorism. And by the way, ask Hillary who blew up the plane last night – another terrible, but preventable tragedy. She has bad judgement and is unfit to serve as President at this delicate and difficult time in our country’s history.
Donald J. Trump Response to Lindsey Graham (who had been his most blatant opponent until a week ago)
I fully understand why Lindsey Graham cannot support me. If I got beaten as badly as I beat him, and all the other candidates he endorsed, I would not be able to give my support either.
Every time I see Lindsey Graham spew hate during interviews I ask why the media never questions how I single-handedly destroyed his hapless run for President. As a candidate who did not receive 1% in his own state – compared to my victory at nearly 40% with many others in the race – he zero credibility. He was a poor representative and an embarrassment to the great people of South Carolina. Judging by the incompetent way he ran his campaign, it is easy to see why his military strategies have failed so badly --- we can’ even beat ISIS!
While I will unify the party, Lindsey Graham has shown himself to be beyond rehabilitation. And like the voters who rejected him, so will I!
An anecdote to add, after this exchange of sharp criticism and opposition to each other, Lindsey Graham made a statement on Facebook last week that he and Trump had a cordial telephone conversation in which they discussed military issues among others. In addition this weekend it was reported that he privately encouraged donors to support Trump, although when asked by CNN’s reporter, he declined to say he will endorse or vote for Trump. Still look like this feud may not last long and will not turn out to be a bitter relationship, which speaks to their core gracious and forgiving spirits. I very much look forward to the day when others who had been strong critics of Trump will follow suit and join hands with Trump to Make America Great Again!
