Canadians have to stop worrying about politics going so far downhill in the United States. Before we cluck over the Republican candidate for the American presidency, we should remember the late Rob Ford. If Ford had been an American and with billions instead of just his father’s millions, he could have given Trump a hell of a run for that Republican nomination. The big difference between them is that Ford would have known what he was dealing with in the Republican Party.
Sure Ford might have smoked a little recreational crack cocaine but he was guaranteed to give better answers to reporters’ questions. Ford probably felt the same as Trump does about the news media but he knew how to use them. Ford was even popular with the late night shows in the U.S.
But Trump has gone too far in expressing his distain for American news media. Between the state-run electoral systems and the news media, he is not sure which is going to really do him in. He says the news media is biased against him and the election is rigged for his opponent. He talks like he is going to lead the next American Revolution when he loses. And that is scary.
Rob Ford understood the voting systems in Canada. He knew how to identify and get out his vote. Trump will be lucky if the registered Republicans in the United States even bother to vote for him. He has been turning off more thinking Republicans every day. They have no idea what his plans are or where he wants to lead the country.
Could you imagine, Trump calling on the National Rifle Association to rise up and support him if he loses the election? Maybe he can also call on his friend Vlad Putin to send troops? Rob Ford was never a sore loser.
The real difference between Ford and Trump is that Ford made use of the system in existence. He was deeply into the Conservative Party, federally and provincially. His father laid the groundwork for his sons in the party and they were aware of the benefits it could provide in they wanted to stay in municipal field or move on to take advantage of provincial or federal opportunities.
Donald Trump came into the Republican race in the United States as an outlier because in a broad field of candidates there was nobody emerging from the pack. Nobody thought he could buy the nomination. He not only bought it but he ran the convention.
More on this another time.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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