Why is Trump Leading in the Polls?

Why is Trump Leading in the Polls? For the moment, Trump is the main go to move for working and middle-class GOP voters. He speaks to these voters as if he is inside their heads and repeating their thoughts. His politically incorrect speeches and ideas reflect their own unfiltered selfish interests, opinions and beliefs. Trump is championing white voters who want to hate and blame others for their own problems. His apparent no-nonsense approach to the debates and campaigning has given him credibility and taken credibility away from his competition.

There have been some helpful and interesting theories as to why is Trump  still leading in the polls to be the next Republican candidate for president. These include that he is getting the most publicity and that his superior authoritarian persona strikes a deep chord with Republican voters. However, these points are more like addressing symptoms of a disease but not addressing the cause of the disease.

These voters are very angry and Trump assuages that anger. What put Republican voter anger over the top was Citizens United. It has shoved aside the premier value of middle-class voters and made the billionaire kingmakers much more important to Republican politicians. These voters were angry enough due to the shrinking middle-class and its loss of quality paying jobs. However, that in combination with billionaires blatantly controlling the Republican agenda, has made them even more angry and irrational. With this setup, in tromps Trump. His appearance of being a savvy and smart businessman is quite appealing to their sensibilities. Most importantly as a billionaire himself, there is no middle-man between him and the voters. Republican voters are desperate to be relevant again and get what they want from the next president.

Trump with his cocky charisma stands out as the best choice of limited options. Republican voters understand when the interests of the 1% conflict with the interests of the middle-class, it is obvious who is getting the shaft. These voters including republican voters, seem to get that there are only so many favors to go around and the middle-class is near the bottom of the GOP priority list. As per usual, these middle-class Republicans have value as long as they can be manipulated and deceived while blinded by their own greed and paranoia. This blindness has in good part led them to Trump.

It’s fascinating to observe how the lie that has had the most leverage in manipulating working and middle-class people is unraveling. The lie is that coddling the so called “job creators” at the top of the economic food chain is what is best for the working and middle-class. Belief in this mirage is evaporating. Voters see that the 1%  have been allowed to drastically reduce the amount of taxes they pay and that their investment in the creation and maintenance of quality middle-class jobs has disappeared as well. I don’t think that middle-class Republicans are anxious to believe this but the fear, that gnaws in the pit of their stomach, that this is true, is affecting their judgment and their perception of politicians.

Trump knows how to sell himself. His bravado has worked for him in business and is working for him in politics. Right now, he is the hero of many Republican voters. Trump appears to have the momentum to win the Republican nomination for president. Some legitimately believe that his mishandling of the guy who told Trump that Muslims have to go is the beginning of the end for the Donald. Perhaps this is true however, there is still a lot of time for this story to be written in one direction or another.