Recently, filmmaker Michael Moore wrote an opinion piece in which he details how Donald Trump never really wanted to be President, which is why he's tanking it now. It's a good piece, and you should read it if you haven't. (here) . Moore puts a lot of thought into his work, and he makes a good case for Trump not really wanting to be President of the United States. (Resist my friends the impulse to write POTUS as if you were some secret service agent.)
But, with respect to Mr Moore, I have to disagree in some respects. I have spent a bit of time studying Mr Trump's doings, and I have to say this : Trump fails more than he succeeds, simply because his personality failings -- grandiosity, vanity, greed, short-tempered-ness and his inability to consider the long term outcomes of his actions -- combine with a carefully concealed lack of native intellect and stunning ignorance for someone in his position lead him to overvalue his worth, overestimate his ability and grossly underestimate his opponents. Unlike Mr Moore, I don't believe Trump didn't see it coming because he overlooked a bet, I think Trump was simply incapable of seeing himself losing. I believe Trump thought he would make a big splash, beat out all the other contenders for the GOP nomination, and then carry the general election on force of personality and name recognition alone -- that people would vote for him despite his glaring lack of ability. Look back at Trump's history. You'll see his back trail is littered with failed business ventures, outraged contractors and other goods and services providers who were either never paid or grossly underpaid, and even bankruptcies. It extends to his personal life too -- a number of failed marriages, smoothed over personal lawsuits and other debacles that show a distinct lack of character.
All these failures can be laid at Trump's door. So many so that the question of his being a successful businessman must be answered in the negative. So, while Trump may have wanted to be President of the United States, it is a thing he can aspire to but simply hasn't got what's needed to take it. Moreover, I think that deep down Trump is aware of his failing in this regard and is -- perhaps subconsciously -- setting himself up to fail in such a manner as he could then blame his failure on someone else. It won't really matter if his blame game seems credible to others, it just has to be something that fits into his false-reality bubble.
Post Script :
Well, I got it wrong. Apparently character doesn't matter anymore. Trump got elected on an Electoral College vote of 306 to Clinton's 232. Clinton won the popular vote by some 3 million-odd votes. Trump carried the EC by some 80k votes spread through Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. According to Michael Moore Trump took Michigan by 2 votes per precinct. Consider this most carefully. Donald J Trump took the election by the margin of the usual crowd at an NFL Football game. Now do not tell me your vote doesn't matter.
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