Donald’s Media Trap

There’s panic among the conservative establishment of the USA.

The orange-faced, insolent man with yellow hair has become the candidate that could very well walk away with the Republican Party nomination, and in so doing be the opponent of whomever the Democrats choose.

Voting in the state of Nevada — the fourth stage in the long selection process for choosing the two candidates, one Democratic and one Republican, that will go on to fight for the White House — showed that this man (hated by the Latin American community, as revealed in a recent survey carried out by Univision and The Washington Post, with 80 percent of Hispanics rejecting the real estate magnate) may have the support of more than 40 percent of the conservative electorate and have a 20-point lead over his nearest rival.

The unease surrounding him is growing, as he has secured a wide lead in Florida over one of his opponents, Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio, who was born in the state and has already received endorsements from all of the Republican legislators in Washington who are from the so-called Sunshine State. Nobody could have imagined that this circus-like and flawed character, this protagonist of a popular reality show and a man with a scary talent for self-promotion might deeply resonate without a significant part of U.S. society [supporting him]. Now, with rage and disappointment as a compass, this dangerous combination of forces has decided to focus its attention on an authoritarian and xenophobic rhetoric. Based on a delusional diagnosis, with little established in reality and as a result of seven years of a deliberate obstructionist policy, Trump's rhetoric is aimed against the government of Barack Obama. He is succeeding among the very same Republican establishment that inadvertently produced the conditions that allowed this billionaire to enjoy the luxury of playing with American democracy, and also with the powerful gringo media.

The media trap set by this outlandish character from New York has been impossible to avoid. The provocations and insults of this oaf have increased a hundredfold as they have managed to capture the attention of audiences. Scandal sells. His exposure in the media has remained stable, and is revitalized every time he makes another outrageous statement.

What Trump’s followers like seeing is that he is a firm "leader," subordinate to no one. He talks tough, has no filters and doesn’t leave anyone out. This is the image he has projected in the various debates sponsored by the major television networks, and it matters little if what he says is true or false. The impressive thing is that now — with five candidates still left in the Republican race, barely keeping their heads above water because Trump could win in the key states — they have all of a sudden and quite late in the game decided to attack the buffoon on his most vulnerable points. They’ve attacked him for his flawed and absurd plans, the fact that he has been a donor for a number of Democratic and Republican campaigns for several years, and also for having ”progressive” political views in his ideological record that don’t represent conservative values.

Specifically, of course, the traditional Republican leaders are shocked because they could very well be on the verge of another defeat. All of a sudden, a megalomaniac they underestimated at the start and did not take seriously is now leading them. What’s more, the Republican National Committee allowed a huge number of candidates to nominate themselves, of which Trump took advantage. It is now clear that while five remain in the running, the reality show presenter is unstoppable. They need to split into two, so people can truthfully separate the men from the boys.

The man is a liar, but he knows how to handle his brand and in this, he has been extremely consistent: He goes everywhere in his portentous private plane, as if he were the real president of the United States just hiding behind the scenes. An army of bodyguards follows him around, made up of both the Secret Service and his own private security, and he is proud to be a billionaire owner of a number of purportedly successful businesses.

The question that both academics and some of the most serious analysts in the U.S. are asking is, how far will the damage caused by Donald Trump to the gringo political system reach? To the misfortune of the world, if he ever gets the keys to the White House, only time will tell.