(note: The map above show the areas we, the immigrants, divided a land already lived in by the Native American tribes overlaid.)
What Donald Trump’s campaign has in common with World Wresting Entertainment and a possible clue to his popularity.
I’ve scattered a half dozen quotes below. See if you can guess who said which, or scroll to the bottom and find out.
“A lot of people have already dyed their hair crazy colors. It’s been done.” 1.
Trump’s campaign and World Wresting Entertainment are, at core, entertainment. Both contain strong personalities designed to make you root for them or against them. Professional wrestling is soap opera. The set is the same week in and week out. The costumes are more minimal, but no less flashy or distinctive. The back stories may be straightforward or complicated, the motivations obvious and the battles are fraught with drama.
“You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.” 2.
The heroes are good like milk, mom and apple pie. They stand up for the little person. They always take a beating, but just enough to make their eventual victory all the sweeter for having seemed in doubt. The villains are evil. They lie, cheat and do nasty things to the heroes for whom we root. Though Trump doesn’t seem to be fulfilling his role as hero.
“I have done a lot of horrible things to a lot of good people.” 3.
This may be why Muhammad Ali’s passing touched so many people. Self-cast as a hero and a villain, as golden-age wrestler Gorgeous George told him in 1961, it’s all about filling the seats. In a 1969 interview, Ali said, “I talked with Gorgeous for five minutes after the match and started being a big-mouth and a bragger.
"He told me people would come to see me get beat. Others would come to see me win. I'd get 'em coming and going."
Ali, incredibly talented, confident and charismatic, made himself one of the world’s winners. Once out of the ring he became a goodwill ambassador for his Muslim faith, despite battling Parkinson’s disease.
Wrestling, despite being scripted entertainment, requires strength, stamina, coordination, a minimal acting ability and exacts a heavy toll on its participants. In many ways, professional wrestlers are as skilled as any professional athlete, even though the outcome of their matches is rarely in doubt. In what goes around comes around, inspired by Ali’s success, wrestlers shout out taunts and catchphrases. They insult their opponents and anyone associated with them, including their fans. Fans participate to the hilt, cheering the heroes and booing the villains and, are sometimes shocked when the heroes and villains trade places.
“Be the kind of person when your feet touch the floor in the morning the devil says, aw shit, they’re here!” 4.
This is what made me compare Donald Trump with professional wrestling. He plays both hero and villain, depending on your perspective. Imagine my surprise when I discovered Trump’s association with the WWE. He has hosted events in his facilities and has appeared in six of their WWE specials. In 2013, the WWE inducted Trump into the celebrity wing of the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. His campaign shows the influence of the time he spent around the WWE and his buddy, WWE Chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon. He learned from some of the best. Like professional wrestlers, Trump spouts incendiary rhetoric which angers some and wins over others. He should probably thank Ali as well All-in-all, the more he spews his outrageous, racist, misogynist and hateful screed the better.
"My IQ is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure; it's not your fault." 5.
Also like professional wrestlers, Donald J. “the Donald” Trump, appeals to his fans at the basest levels. He says things they may be afraid to say outside of their own circle. For them, he stands up to villains masquerading as heroes. He stands up to white hats who have gotten too big for their and our own good and need taking down.
It all depends on your perspective. For me, he is the villain. I believe he would be a terrible choice to lead our country. You can go and research his history. It becomes readily apparent he is a narcissist. He does anything and everything he can to get his name on everything imaginable:
Trump Financial, Trump Sales and Leasing, Trump International Realty, The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, (formerly Trump University),Trump Restaurants (located in Trump Tower and consisting of Trump Buffet, Trump Catering, Trump Ice Cream Parlor, and Trump Bar), GoTrump (a search engine), Select By Trump (a line of coffee drinks),Trump Drinks (an energy drink for the Israeli and Palestinian markets), Donald J. Trump Signature Collection (a line of menswear, men's accessories, and watches), Donald Trump The Fragrance (2004), SUCCESS by Donald Trump (a second fragrance launched by The Trump Organization and the Five Star Fragrance Company released in March 2012), Trump Ice bottled water, the former Trump Magazine, Trump Golf, Trump Chocolate, Trump Home (home furnishings), Trump Productions (a television production company), Trump Institute, Trump: The Game (1989 board game with a 2005 re-release version tied to The Apprentice), Donald Trump's Real Estate Tycoon (a business simulation game), Trump Books, Trump Model Management, Trump Shuttle, Trump Mortgage, Trump Network (a multi-level vitamin, cosmetic, and urinalysis marketing company), Trump Vodka, Trump Steakhouse and Trump Steaks. In addition, Trump reportedly received $1.5 million for each one-hour presentation he did for The Learning Annex. Trump also endorsed ACN Inc., a multi-level marketing telecommunications company. He has spoken at ACN International Training Events at which he praised the company's founders, business model and video phone. He earned a total $1.35 million for three speeches given for the company, amounting to $450,000 per speech.
In 2011, Forbes' financial experts estimated the value of the Trump brand at $200 million. Trump disputes this valuation, saying that his brand is worth about $3 billion. Many developers pay Trump to market their properties and to be the public face for their projects.
I have not vetted the above material, which I pulled from Wikipedia and modified by eliding several parentheticals. If you would like to investigate further, you’ll find the original at en.wikipedia.org/... I intend only to illustrate how much “The Donald” loves himself.
If you are one of his fans, or one of his detractors, remember heroes and villains can change places without warning. In the words of the late Randy “Macho Man” Savage, “Oh yeah!”
“At the end of the day I’m the one getting rich.” 6
- Dean Ambrose
- J. Trump
- Bray Wyatt
- Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson
- J. Trump
- Roman Reigns
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