When Donald Junior Trump 2016 firstly announced his intentions to run as President of the United States he was followed by a series of amused comments and articles in the media. Virtually no established media attributed Trump the chances to win the race for the nomination, not to mention the presidency itself.
But week after week and primary after primary he forged ahead and finally he won the primaries. How could this once unimaginable situation become reality? The following essay tries to answer this question, whilst including factors like the internal structure of Trumps competitors-field and the individual weaknesses of his contestants. But yet, the main-factor of Trumps success - and therein lies the core-issue of this essay - can may be found by taking a deeper look at the intensity and the manner of the media coverage of Trump and his campaign.
Table of Contents
1. What happened?
2. Why did it happen?
3. What's going to happen?
Research Objectives and Themes
This essay examines the factors contributing to Donald Trump's success in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, focusing on the interplay between the fragmented field of GOP candidates and the systemic role of the media in driving his nomination.
- Analysis of the Republican primary candidate field and their strategic weaknesses.
- The influence of the Tea Party movement on the internal GOP electorate.
- The role of US-American media structures and the "intrasystem logic" of profit-driven reporting.
- Empirical evidence regarding "earned media" and its correlation with candidate poll performance.
Excerpt from the Book
Why did it happen?
To understand Trump's victory of the Republican Party presidential primaries to the core an accurate reflection on the sourrounding field of his former competitors is indispensable. To begin with there has to be considered the quantity of the other Republican candidates: Starting with Ted Cruz, Senator of Texas, the former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush, the Senator Marco Rubio of Florida up to the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich – just to name a few – all in all and besides Trump there were 16 major candidates for the race. This was a record in the number of presidential candidates for any political party in American history. The pattern of this field on its own, in which Trump was not constrained to be confronted with a compact field of candidates but instead as luck would have it was located inbetween a shattered group of many contestants, can be seen as one factor that lead to Trump's nomination.
Additional to the fragmented structure in the aggregate not one of Trumps competitors could be described as a distuingished appearance. The former governor Jeb Bush, for example, who in comparison to the other candidates invested by far the highest amount of money into presidential ads during his campaign – in numbers: 82 million dollars – was mostly perceived as an unflattering candidate both by the media and the public. Symptomatic for this widely shared viewpoint is the fact that in 2015 his campaign team missed out on purchasing the website JebBush.com, so that visitors of the site were redirected to the Trump's campaign website. Another of Trumps competitors, Senator Marco Rubio, was characterized as a dreary candidate, having one of his most reported moments during the Republican Party presidential primaries at a debate in New Hampshire in which he repeated the same line about the in his opinion ongoing attempt Obamas to change the USA in a negative way for four (!) times.
Summary of Chapters
1. What happened?: This chapter outlines Donald Trump's entry into the 2016 presidential race and his unexpected progression from a candidate initially dismissed as a "joke" to the official Republican nominee.
2. Why did it happen?: This chapter identifies the primary factors behind Trump’s success, including the fragmented GOP field, the influence of the Tea Party movement, and the immense "earned media" coverage that followed his controversial statements.
3. What's going to happen?: This concluding chapter synthesizes the findings, arguing that the media’s profit-driven "circular circulation of information" was the central engine for Trump's campaign momentum, and reflects on the broader implications for political discourse.
Keywords
Donald Trump, 2016 Presidential Election, Republican Primaries, Media Coverage, Earned Media, Tea Party, Bourdieu, Intrasystem Logic, Political Communication, GOP, Campaign Strategy, Fast-Thinker, Media Landscape, Mass Media, Public Opinion
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this publication?
The paper investigates the factors that led to Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
The central themes include the structure of the Republican candidate field, the influence of the Tea Party movement, and the role of the US media in providing massive coverage to Trump.
What is the primary research question?
The research asks which specific factors led to Trump's victories in the primaries and his subsequent nomination as the GOP candidate in 2016.
Which scientific methodology does the author apply?
The author applies a political science and media studies approach, utilizing Pierre Bourdieu's theories on media logic to analyze the relationship between candidates and the news industry.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body examines the competitive landscape of the Republican primaries, the macro-level influence of the Tea Party, and the quantitative impact of "earned media" on Trump's poll rankings.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Trump, Republican Primaries, Media Coverage, Earned Media, Bourdieu, and Political Communication.
How did the media's profit-seeking behavior benefit Trump?
According to the text, the media's need for high viewership and advertising revenue led them to extensively cover Trump's controversial remarks, which created an "earned media" advantage worth billions of dollars.
What role did the "Tea Party" movement play in Trump's success?
The Tea Party provided a radicalized base that responded well to Trump's positions on issues like immigration and the authenticity of Barack Obama's citizenship.
Why was the "fragmented" GOP field significant?
The large number of Republican candidates meant that the vote was split among many, which prevented a clear alternative to Trump from consolidating support early in the process.
How does the author interpret the term "fast-thinker"?
The author uses the term, based on Bourdieu, to describe a figure who provides simple, short, and punchy answers to complex issues, which perfectly suited the US television format and Trump's communication style.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Dalien Tru (Autor:in), 2016, Trump and the media, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/387033
