Presidential pantomime: Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a hangar at Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona. Flickr/Gage Skidmore. Some rights reserved.From bragging about sexual assault to verbally abusing a Muslim gold-star family to suggesting voters could shoot Hillary Clinton – the type of scandals that would bury any regular politician have failed to dent Donald Trump’s campaign, and often increased his core support. Trump has imitated a disabled reporter on stage, and he’s dismissed allegations of not paying tax for eighteen years as “that makes me smart.” But there is still a real chance that we could wake up on November 9th to a Donald Trump victory. How has he managed to do it?
False truths, myths and conspiracy theories are a key part of Trump’s communications strategy to spread confusion, xenophobia and fear to his own advantage.
Trump’s success follows a trend of nationalist right wing populist movements around the world. From Jobbik in Hungary, the Austrian Freedom Party, Marie Le Pen’s National Front in France, UKIP and the Brexiteers in Britain, these movements are thriving in the mood of distrust and anger against the current political establishment.
