5月17日Trump贏得Oregon後,成為有史以來共和黨在初選中獲得最多選票的候選人.之前的最高記錄是George Bush 2000年的一千八十萬票,Trump現已有一千一百一十萬票,而且初選還沒結束.Trump競選成績令所有人吃驚,更讓他的支持者無比驕傲,他以一個門外漢的身份(the ultimate outsider),不僅打敗所有黨內選手(大多為州長或議員,其中不乏資曆顯赫,或有草根基礎的候選人),而且提前民主黨拿到提名,當政治老手Hillary (the establishment favorite) 和Sanders打的不可開交,傷透腦筋時,他已公布了最高法院大法官的提名名單,並和RNC宣布關於籌款的聯合協議,這些做法讓他進一步修複黨內關係.另外如果Hillary不動用後台,即super-delegates(這些super-delegates不是選舉產生的,是內定, Hillary有500多名,Sanders隻有40名),光憑pledged delegates,可以確定她無法達到提名需要的數目,那麽Trump就是唯一通過公平競爭得到提名資格的人.連反對他的人都不得不承認:He won fair and square.
他是如何做到的? 我的答案是: 群眾運動(movement). 媒體專家曾經說競選靠的是零售推銷retail marketing,如市廳講座(town hall), 和民眾麵對麵談話,打電話,甚至上門拉票,專家還說造勢大會(rally)是air marketing,不能變成選票.但Trump幾乎沒有進行retail marketing,他的競選活動除了媒體采訪就是在每個州舉辦造勢大會(rally).事實證明Trump的競選方式效率之高,花費之少,打破了傳統模式和預言.
造勢大會反映了民眾的熱情程度,但這隻是選舉中人民對候選人反響的縮影.從Twitter, Facebook,或中文網絡如文學城評論中不難發現美國甚至世界人民對這個選舉表現了前所未有的興趣, 不難察覺Trump movement民間聲勢.與此同時主流媒體扮演了一個重要的角色,從他宣布競選開始,除了周末晚上,每天24小時主流電視台都把焦點對向他,專家座談(panel)中0-1個支持者麵對3-6個反對者是家常便飯,記憶裏媒體從來沒對任何人或任何事件,如此長期報道和任意醜化.讓媒體氣惱的是 Trump戰勝了輿論,戰勝了主流文化和精英思想,從最不符合公眾標準的總統候選人變成人氣不斷上升的候選人,對這個結果媒體可謂功不可沒,精英們喪心病狂的表現讓人們看到一個難能可貴堅持己見的人,當今社會需要這樣的領導人,他不僅勇敢,還足智多謀,不斷給我們驚喜,正如他所說:我們會贏個沒完沒了,直到你說:總統,我們贏太多了,能不能不要贏了,我說:不行,我們要贏下去,直到我們的國家變得強大.(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)
從某種意義上,這個運動-Trump movement-誕生於人們對政治正確的重新認識,有頭腦的人早已對充斥政治正確的社會感到壓抑,不滿甚至憤怒,但從來沒有人,特別是政治人物,敢於說出真實想法,所以當Trump站在政治舞台上毫無懼色向政治正確偽裝下的攻擊奮力回擊,他不是在為自己戰鬥,他是為沉默的大眾戰鬥,為他們說出積壓內心的話.當他當麵指出並反擊FOX,CNN,ABC主持人的刁難或是New York Times的誣蔑,當他拒絕收回爭議性的言論(修建邊牆,暫時嚴禁穆斯林教徒進入美國,指責Bush政府說謊,用核武器為理由把美國帶入中東地區的持久戰爭),當他沒有立刻在電視采訪中譴責支持他的白人之上論的組織(White Supremacist),也沒有屈服於輿論而做出申辯或反對種族歧視的聲明,當他不肯解雇受到刑事指控的競選經理(後來經過警方查證,撤消指控,這個過程中媒體一直向他施加壓力,但Trump始終堅持1.經理沒有錯2.他不能出於輿論壓力而毀了這個人的一生.另外他主動把關鍵證據-錄像帶-交給警察,並告訴他們”做你們認為正確的事”), 當他成為準提名人(Presumptive Nominee)後,仍然拒絕扮演道貌岸然的政客形象,對敏感話題果斷表達立場…這一切形成Trump與眾不同,令人難忘的競選之路和屬於他的運動- Trump movement.
他是當今第一個站在輿論鋒尖上和當權派,利益集團, 主流社會叫板的政治人物,並在辱罵聲中輕鬆打敗對手,贏得一場又一場競賽.無論在政治辯論中,媒體采訪中,競選演說中,他隻做自己,不管別人嘲笑或批評,他不道歉,不討好,不屈服,我們從沒有見過這樣的候選人,從來沒有經曆過這樣的選舉,不管媒體怎麽對他妖魔化,選民認定Trump就是最好的總統人選. 許多人活了一輩子,第一次關注選舉,第一次去競選大會花許多時間等候見候選人,第一次去投票站為他們喜愛的候選人投票,許多人有一個共同的心聲:他是我們等待了一生的領導人,這次的選舉是一生中才有一次的機會 (He is once-in-a-lifetime political leader. This is once-in-a-lifetime election.)
除了對政治正確的態度引起共鳴,Trump movement的出現還有其他原因,簡單說三點:想象力,清除選舉舞弊,為人民說話. 這個選舉中,人民想要有才華和真誠的領導人,而不是一個背台詞的職業政客, Hillary Clinton可能是最沒有想象力的候選人了,她演說永遠像在念台詞,做作,沒有感染力,她在CNN town hall中自己承認這一點(She said unlike her husband, she doesn’t know how to run an imaginative campaign.) 這方麵, Bernie Sanders是成功的, 他競選理念和演說風格感染了很多人, (“百分之九十的人口擁有的財富等同於千分之一的人口(0.1%)的財富 (Top 1/10th of 1 percent today in America owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%).”)令支持他的民眾,特別是年輕人滿懷熱情. Trump的演說雖然沒有那麽慷慨激昂,沒有政策細節,被媒體批評前後矛盾,事實不準確,但大家有一個共識:他說的是我們的心裏話,說的我們飯桌上的話題.大家也許寧願要一個了解我們想法的人,而不要一個機械化的政策專家.
關於選舉舞弊的問題,Trump最先提出,並因為反映出選民心聲,為他帶來競選中的轉機,他不但大力批評這個黨派製度,而且用實際行動證明他的話:隻有打敗這個作弊製度才有權力進行體製改革(only after beating the rigged system, you can reform the system.) 最近Sanders也談到民主黨的選舉製度對外來者的不公平,稱這是一個作弊的製度(It’s a rigged system). 媒體開玩笑,說他抄襲了Trump的觀點,(took a page out of Trump’s playbook,) 事實是他們二人都不被黨內建製派當成自己人,受到不公平的待遇,即對阻擋外來者所設的的規定(rules stacked against outsiders).差別是Trump及時抓住了選民的心,把這個選民一致反感的問題作為競選話題.四月初,他輸掉Wisconsin初選,隨後在由黨內選擇代表而沒有選舉的Colorado, Wyoming幾乎沒有得到一個代表(delegates),而且已經贏得初選的州裏本屬於他的代表(delegates)如果需要再次投票表決,這些代表大多數不會為他投票,選情最艱難時,他發表文章闡述他對製度改革的觀念(Let Me Ask America a Question),在競選活動中不停談到這個問題,此後他的支持率一路上升,而他的對手投機取巧,玩弄權術的行動引發選民不滿,從而轉向Trump,支持他對於民主選舉的呼籲,強大的支持讓他打敗了選舉舞弊,打敗了對外來者不利的規定,逆流而上,在黨內眾多反對勢力中成為準提名人.Sanders能否步其後塵,要看他的運氣了,初選即將結束,留給他的時間不多了.
最後一點就是選舉最主要的動力:為人民發言,為人民而戰,這是民主選舉的關鍵但未必是每個選舉的主題. 前段時間在Face of Nation裏,Trump說”I don’t care about the game, I care about the people.”(我不在乎政治遊戲,我在乎的是人民), 在CNN town hall 裏,他說”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(競選對手)的支持,我隻想得到人民的支持).他能夠在初選後期突破預言的天花板,獲得大多數選民的認同和支持(從紐約初選開始,連續贏得10個州的所有選區超過60%選民)和他對公平選舉的態度有著密切關係.他已經以實際行動打敗體製,並將繼續改進體製. Trump movement最重要的意義就在於告訴大家總統不是統治者,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.”)總統的任命即人民的任命(mandate from the people),這是總統的職責.相信他會帶著這個使命完成競選,當選總統,帶領美國改寫曆史,實現他對人民的承諾.
Trump最近提出,Sanders作為Independent參選,三個候選人站一個辯論舞台上,看看誰最有能力說服大眾,誰的message最能引起共鳴,誰的品格最符合老百姓的期望,誰最經得起考驗.相信如果是三個人的競爭,一定更為精彩,結果也更有說服力. 當然,我相信最後的勝利者還是Trump,因為這過去十個月裏,他比任何人接受的考驗都更嚴峻, 他以一個人的力量顛覆舊觀念,擺脫政治束縛,修改不合理製度,挑戰當權派精英,而他所創造的奇跡證實了這個選舉屬於他,屬於曾經沉默如今不再沉默的大眾.
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最近Trump針對反對他的人發表的幾個聲明,獨特的風格讓人忍俊不禁, 簡單明了,加上一點調侃,恰到好處表達立場,又讓對手無話可說.摘錄如下:
- 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!
