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Result of the Electoral College? And what it means to the country in the short and the long term. As well as the increased role media has played and will play moving forward.
Media’s impact on the 2016 election – and what it means for the future
As a 21st century candidate to become the next POTUS, one would be foolish to expect any skeletons, no matter how seemingly inconsequential, to remain buried. Yet, there has always been an element of dignity to the election. Even in an era defined by mudslinging and attack ads, there was still a line not to be crossed. Perhaps we just never had a candidate like Donald Trump.
He threw the rulebook out the window, whereupon it fell into a paper shredder. Over the past two years, he berated his Republican opponents, and eventually his arch-nemesis Hillary Clinton, with a constant stream of verbal abuse. He cared no more about being politically correct than he did about policy, preferring to deal in pathos and rhetoric rather than actual politics. No candidate for the presidency has ever lied more constantly, or convincingly than Trump, ignoring the blatantly ironic moniker with which he labeled his opponent: #crookedHillary.
But Trump WON.
He won using an approach no one had ever tried before, that no one ever thought would work, writing him off right up until the very last day of the election.
Realizing that he could not make headway through the normal channels, Trump resorted to alternate methods. With the standard media coverage heavily favoring Clinton, he turned instead to social media, a format that it turned out was a perfect fit for his sound-bite heavy style, and a platform on which he dominated Clinton (17,662,911 to 11,703,254 followers on Twitter, 16,488,354 to 10,021,375 likes on Facebook.) The ability to win on social media effectively countered Trump’s losses in the mainstream media, and proved an effective tool to disseminate his agenda nationally.
Perhaps Trump’s greatest success was bringing Clinton down to his level, each trading at best mildly substantiated barbs bordering on the petty: According to Trump, Hillary doesn’t have the stamina, Hillary can’t be trusted, Hillary is The Establishment. If you’re a Democrat, Trump is a Russian puppet, Trump is a fascist, Trump has no actual experience. When the dust settled, the chasm between the two sides was as wide as their approval numbers were low.
The question becomes: What does Trump’s upset mean looking forward? In 2020, yes, but also for the future of politics in general.
Any savvy candidate will see that a social media presence is now critical. Money will be transferred away from traditional TV spots and billboards and into a constant stream of bite sized or 140 character elevator pitches.
Most significantly, elections will get straight up nastier. Trump proved that he could win with offense alone. He mercilessly attacked any and all opponents and turning the election from politics into a reality TV show, an arena in which Trump feels far more comfortable.