Don’t laugh, but I actually have a feeling that Trump has a smart campaign strategy this time around.
So Trump has been going down in the polls because he’s seen as a loose cannon, right? Saying all these awful things, having no ground game, running a terrible campaign, etc. etc. etc. That’s the media story and Trump’s been furious about the “negative” press he’s received. It’s more “honest” press to my ears but hey, it can be both.
So with savvy media man Roger Ailes advising Trump, Trump (or rather, his campaign) has decided on an interesting tactic.
Tell the media one story, and then act in a completely different fashion.
So the Trump campaign has been telling the media this story: “Trump is going to continue to be an unstable, borderline treasonous asshole. No change.” And the media, including Dailykos, and EJ Dionne, and even Nate Silver are buying it. Haha, Trump is going to continue to be crazy! He’s hired Stephen Bannon, crazy man extraordinaire! Hahaha! Look out! More assassination calls on Hillary! More pro-Russia treason! Woohoo! Hillary has this in the bag!
But while the Trump campaign is trying to keep the bar low with the media and lulling the Clinton campaign into a sense of complacency, Trump’s actions behind the scenes tell a much different story.
Trump is no longer just being Trump. The campaign is now doing things it has never done before.
1) The Trump campaign is buying ad time. It has never done this before, and it is a smart move (if, albeit, a bit late).
2) The Trump campaign is being crafty in pointing the media one way with the loathsome Stephen Banner, while allowing the far more media-savvy pollster Kellyanne Conway to do the actual work. Conway’s much better at adjusting messaging due to her experience as a pollster. Also, thanks to Conway, Republican donors who have not opened their checkbooks for Trump are now starting to have second thoughts. This hasn’t happened before. And it’s a positive sign for Trump.
3) It’s been almost a week since Trump has said something outrageous. Another accomplishment. In fact, Trump recently called himself Mr. Brexit. A smart moniker, since it waves away Trump’s distressingly bad polls by recalling the surprising upset of the “Brexit” vote when most pollsters predicted Britain to stay in the EU. It also evokes a sense of nationalism, independence, and self-pride without any (overt) racism…. a tone Trump has been struggling to set. With Conway’s help, he may actually succeed this time.
4) Trump has been sticking to his teleprompter more often than usual lately. When Trump sticks to the teleprompter, the polls tighten.
It’s a good strategy: set the pundits up for more campaign horror and then give them nothing. It’s interesting, and I hope Clinton doesn’t fall for it and get complacent. So far she has been very, very nimble about avoiding Trump’s traps so I’m sure that her cautiousness is paying off here too. If Bernie Sanders taught her anything, it’s that she should never take any election or any poll for granted. It’s not over until the last ballot is cast.