Pre-Modern Campaigns (to the 1960s) Election Campaigns Pre-Modern Campaigns (to the 1960s) before use of mass technologies to great effect considerable personal contact between candidates, party supporters and the voter campaigning was largely localized (emphasis on local candidate…) Modern Campaigns (from the 1960s) opinion polling drives campaign messaging professional consultants manage campaign from central ‘war room’ television is the dominant form of advertising - ‘photo ops’ & ‘sound bites’ requires substantial amounts of money….. negative campaign strategies…. Postmodern Campaigns (early 2000s……Barack Obama ’08?) television and internet weave a communications storyboard opinion polling balanced with focus groups (pre and during campaigns) instant social media (mass) response to minute by minute events importance of controlling the message, as in modern campaigns, further emphasized …..but, more difficult to control online message too – limited reach? recall – echo chambers…confirmation bias…filter bubbles? Kennedy-Nixon Debate, 1960 Trudeau (2015) ……..and family To what extent is the family photo op effective in garnering support for a candidate?
The Trump Effect “My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.” “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.” “You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.” “No one respects women more than me." “I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.” “I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
Donald Trump: A Populist and Partisan President Donald Trump: A Populist and Partisan President? ‘populism’ – emphasis on the people, rather than elites…… Why do you think voters would be willing to overlook controversial policies and behaviours to elect their preferred candidate? America was divided before Trump…. Trump did not cause the divide…… Trump has deepened and worsened this divide…. 2016 US Presidential Election – Flawed candidates? Discuss. Democratic Candidate – Hilary Clinton Republican Candidate – Donald J. Trump What flaws would make a candidate totally disqualifiable? Why do people voting today prefer political outsiders to political insiders? Is Trump a president for all Americans? Does it matter? Is negative media coverage better than no media coverage at all? Trump Nation – Describe a Trump supporter……are they all ‘extremists?’ What should this tell us?