Trump: a 'Demagogue'
Beyond Political Redemption (El Universal, Mexico)
"The angry
reactions to Trump have made no more a dent in the man than those that followed
his insults of Mexicans or his comments about John McCain and U.S. prisoners of
war. Not only has he not moderated his positions, let alone apologize - Trump
continues to assume the language of a high school bully proud of his bullying.
That's Trump: he goes through life insulting, offending and bullying people.
And when someone answers back, he reiterates and reinforces his original
offense, depicting himself as a victim of the establishment."
At the first debate with the ten main aspirants for the Republican
presidential nomination [video, upper, right] - and there are seven more in the junior league - there
was one figure who overshadowed all others. His style abrasive and offensive,
Donald Trump was the center of attention, much to the chagrin of his colleagues
and the great concern of party leaders.
Trump burst in, flirting with the audience from the moment
of his arrival, confronted the three moderators and particularly the sole woman
among them, and he resisted the timid attacks of his onstage rivals, which
little by little faded into the background. The first question, which seemed
designed for him, was one of the two which provoked responses that could end up
costing Trump dearly.
By
refusing to reject the possibility of launching an independent candidacy if he
doesn't get the Republican nomination, Trump effectively depicted himself as an
opportunist who will remain only as long as the results suit or please him. The
whistles and jeers in the auditorium came swiftly, but the reaction of party
leaders and donors was far more cautious. No one has forgotten the last time a
populist right-wing businessman ran as an independent, handing the election to
Democrats on a platter. The ghost of Ross Perot in 1992 is now
giving heartburn to more than a few Republican strategists.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
It was the second question directed at Trump that exposed a
misogynist side that has already been hinted at many times, but which is now
out in the open: not content with the tone and the manner by which he responded
to FOX commentator Megyn Kelly during the debate, he
later led people to understand that her questions were hormonal, re-Tweeting an
openly sexist message that referred to Kelly as "Bimbo" - a
derogatory term that many associate with blond, attractive women with little
intelligence.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Kelly was
the grand revelation and probably the big winner of the debate: between her
question and Trump's responses, she managed to place an issue at the top of the
Republican campaign agenda: the rights and place of women in U.S. society,
and the tense and fragile relationship of the GOP with a group that represents
slightly over half of the electorate. While 53 percent are women, the
Republican Party is regarded – and not only by its opponents – as cut off from
the female gender thanks to its positions opposing abortion or family planning.
Just in case anyone doubted that the party, also known as
the GOP, is a White, conservative and wealthy men's club, out of the 17
aspirants that took part in the debate last Thursday, there was a single woman
in the secondary forum - CarlyFiorina,
and oh yes - and in the main forum, there was a single African American - Ben
Carson.
Has Donald Trump brought about the same circus-like atmosphere that bedeviled the GOP primary race in 2012 - and which...
The angry reactions to Trump have made no more a dent in the
man than those that followed his insults of Mexicans or his comments about John
McCain and U.S. prisoners of war. Not only has he not moderated his positions, let
alone apologize - Trump continues to assume the language of a high school bully
proud of his bullying. That's Trump: he goes through life insulting, offending
and bullying people. And when someone answers back, he reiterates and
reinforces his original offense, depicting himself as a victim of the
establishment.
There is no way to reason with people like him. Meanwhile,
Republicans are watching with a combination of amazement and terror at the why
this puffy-haired mogul is kidnapping their nomination process and saying what
many of his supporters down the party ranks seem to believe.
Trump is no act of magic or great talent: he is demagogue
who is unfortunately lending legitimacy to the worst prejudices and resentments
of the U.S. middle class.
*Gabriel Guerra is a
political analyst and communicator.
By
refusing to reject the possibility of launching an independent candidacy if he
doesn't get the Republican nomination, Trump effectively depicted himself as an
opportunist who will remain only as long as the results suit or please him. The
whistles and jeers in the auditorium came swiftly, but the reaction of party
leaders and donors was far more cautious. No one has forgotten the last time a
populist right-wing businessman ran as an independent, handing the election to
Democrats on a platter. The ghost of 
