Final Draft of the Research Paper & Works Cited Paper

Jackson

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Donald Trump’s presidential paranoia in Kenya

Donald Trump campaign for the presidency of the United States has meteorically risen because of the paranoia among voters because of the uncertainty that surrounds American future and the desire to a new styled presidency. When Donald Trump first announced his run for presidency, a lot of people were skeptical. Some thought that maybe it was a ploy for another reality show, or to help boost ratings for the pending new season of The Apprentice. He made outlandish remarks that almost no one else would be able to get away with, for which the only result was growth in support. What once was dismissed as a joke is now a very real possibility; the possibility that Donald Trump could very well go on to be the Republican nominee, and eventually president of the United States.

A lot of what has helped drive the Trump campaign forward is paranoia amongst voters. There is uncertainty of the future, there is uncertainty about how the country has been run in the past 8 years, and there is also uncertainty about those that are currently in office as well as career politicians. People are looking for something different, and they think that they have found it in Donald Trump. He doesn’t look, walk, or talk like anything that they have seen before, and that for many voters, makes him the right candidate.

Donald Trump’s nativist speeches have seen him gain traction with the republican voters (Pruessen, 2016). According to Pruessen politicians campaigning on extremist ideologies are new in the American society. Major national issues such as the World War 1 & 11, economic downturn and 9/11 terrorist attacks produce anxiety amongst the citizens. Adolf Hitler successfully rode on this paranoia to gain support from the German nationals who felt wronged by the events of World War I.

The idea of paranoid style in politics was introduced by Hofstadter in his essay “The Paranoid Style in American Politics.” Pruessen’s article on the meteoric rise of Donald Trump borrows heavily from Hofstadter’s works. Hofstandter sought to determine how conspiracy theories and creation of suspicious discontent amongst voters have influenced voting pattern throughout American history. In explaining the paranoid politician theory, Hofstadter identified two different groups of the radical right. According to Hofstadter, politically paranoid voters feel persecuted with the past ruling regimes hence feel the need to over aggressively act in political activities.

Republican presidential flag bearer contender Donald Trump is viewed as a spokesperson for the paranoid politics in the 2016 nomination context. Mr. Trump is edging closer to gaining republican nomination on a campaign filled with fear-mongering and hatred of non-native Americans. The world is slowly coming to terms of the unexpected pointer that Trump could soon be the president of the United States.

However, many political pundits describe Donald Trump as an opportunist-an irresponsible politician who is ready to say anything to gain political mileage. Donald Trump’s lack of concrete ideological background makes his consistent rise in poll increasingly frightening. Despite his racist and confrontational comments, his political ratings have steadily risen since 2015.

However, the rise of Donald Trump could signify the rise of American exhibiting politics of paranoia tendencies. In states such as Iowa and New Hampshire there is considerable number of furious voters with conservative ideals. People who were used to a booming economy from the post second world period today suffer economic crisis. Asian countries such as China are slowly taking over several American manufacturing industries. Economic conservatives believe that there is need to make America the perfect Economic super power as it used to be. On the other hand, there are religious conservatives who are not happy about the contemporary gay marriage low. Such conservatives believe that United States of America is slowly suffering from social decadence and rejects individual’s social value.

Pollsters have in recent times supported the possibility of growing number of people in America exhibiting political paranoia. The number of American’s who cherish the Old-America that controlled the whole world is growing. This group of voters feels that the real American image and American dream is slowly fading off.

Nonetheless, there are demographic aspects that are fuelling fear amongst the indigenous Americans. Census report of 2015 highlighted that the racial minorities are now the largest with children below the age of 5 years. This trend points towards the significant reduction in the population of the current majority white population in the next few decades.

Culturally, minority communities have increased cultural activities and general cultural presence in America. For instance, Mexican and Chinese restaurants have opened in most major towns across United States. The native white community feels culturally threatened by these developments.

There is a significant risk in the Republican Party concerning how the party should adopt to contemporary social order. For instance there is difference between those in support of conservative Hispanic and those who believe the party should hold on to the white population. Moreover, rural conservatives feel that the current crop of leaders is out of touch with their plights. The leaders are seen as people keen on enriching themselves at the expense of representing the needs and beliefs of their electorate.

In conclusion I find that voters supporting Donald Trump do so from a feeling of resent. Trump’s speech seems to resonate well with the majority white population. Moreover, resentment is attributable to the feeling of abandonment by the ruling elite. Donald Trump has opportunistically come in to fill the void of a true conservative American. He has uses the concept on paranoia in his fiery speeches that promises the return to Old America. Therefore I agree with my thesis that Donald Trump campaign for the presidency of the United States has meteorically risen because of the paranoia among voters because of the uncertainty that surrounds American future and the desire to a new styled presidency.

References

Pruessen, Ron (2016) The 2016 election is seeing the return of the ‘paranoid style’ in American politics. USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog (25 Feb 2016) Blog Entry.

Hofstadter, Richard (2008). "The Paranoid Style in American Politics". The Paranoid Style in American Politics, and Other Essays. New York: Vintage Books. p. xi. ISBN 9780307388445.

Robins, Robert S., and Jerrold M. Post. Political paranoia: The psychopolitics of hatred. Yale University Press, 1997.

Shore, Miles F. "Political Paranoia: The Psychopolitics of Hatred." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 29.1 (1998): 123-125.