To understand Trump's appeal and legacy

Hello there guys, I thought I would write a piece about Biden's victory - as you can imagine, I'm in the middle of lockdown 2.0 here in London, I've spent my days working from home, with little else to do but to watch the 24 hours news coverage on the American election when I need a break from work. Of course I was absolutely delighted that Biden won and I totally adore Kamala Harris. My regular readers will point out that I did predict a Trump victory - don't get me wrong, I am so happy to have been proven wrong because I find Trump abhorrent and offensive in every single possible way. But then again, I didn't want to do a post that would cover so many of the points already made in the media - I also didn't want to just make it a rant about how I feel about Trump (I've done that enough on my blog already). I didn't want a knee jerk reaction and so instead, I waited to find the right angle to create an insightful blog post about what has happened. So please, it was not like I am not interested in the US election because I've not posted about it yet. I was doing plenty of reading and research, then inspiration hit me last Friday when I was at work, please let me tell you what happened then. 

I have to deal with a client at work - let's call him Tommy (not his real name). Tommy is an extremely rich and successful businessman, he used to live in London but he has recently relocated to Monaco to pay less taxes. Tommy isn't your typical British banker - he is the total opposite of what you would expect. He came from a painfully poor working class family in Essex, a very poor part of England. He left school at 15 with no formal qualifications and started off as a market trader, buying and selling various things and he realized quickly that he was pretty good at sales. His story is very similar to that of Sir Alan Sugar, except that he is even younger and made his money even faster than Alan Sugar. I have met Tommy a number of times and we have a lot of mutual friends given that we operate in the same area of financial services. I caught up with one of these mutual friends - let's call him Richard (not his real name) and Richard met up with Tommy recently in Monaco. Richard asked me if I knew Tommy and I said yes, but I don't feel comfortable dealing with Tommy - this actually surprised Richard. He pointed out that both Tommy and I were outsiders in the banking industry - we were both of working class origin and weren't the typical people you would find in the industry. I then pointed out that whilst that may be true, Tommy and I were still very different in many ways: for example, I went to a top university on scholarship and based my social mobility on my social skills, my ability to pass off as middle class rather than working class whilst Tommy was unabashedly, unashamedly working class in his demeanour. I have tried hard to conform by doing things like totally changing my accent whilst Tommy keeps his Essex accent but drives a Lamborghini and wears a watch that costs over £100,000. Thus whilst I do respect Tommy, it doesn't automatically mean that I like him personally. 

Is Tommy intelligent? Undoubtedly so - it is no accident that he became this successful but it seems like he is proving a point that he doesn't need to change his working class demeanour and accent to make money, that people in the industry will gladly work with him if he is good at what he does. What made me rather uncomfortable was Tommy's appearance, he had a massive tattoo of some kind of dragon that crept up his neck - you can only see the tail of the dragon as it finishes behind his ear, it is simply not the kind of image one would associate with people working in corporate finance. The key difference between Tommy and I was that I believed that social mobility meant having all the trappings of appearing middle class - perhaps you could say that this is me being rather superficial whilst Tommy is a lot more straight forward, he wasn't looking for acceptance from anyone, he just wanted to show everyone that he is richer than everyone around him whilst being as working class as his parents in his demeanour. I'm not the only one who feels this way - Richard told me about how he was introducing his friend who was a Swiss banker to Tommy, he had to warn his Swiss friend that Tommy was not quite what you would expect but to reserve his judgement until the meeting was over rather than be so overwhelmed with his first impressions of Tommy. I asked Richard why he liked working with Tommy, he replied, "Tommy is genuine, honest. Sure he's rough, he sounds like he is a truck driver from Essex, but so what? He is an outsider who has broken the rules, made his mark in the industry and he should be held up as a role model to so many young people out there with the message, it doesn't matter if your parents are working class, it doesn't matter if your parents are poor and can't pay for your education - if you are willing to work hard then too can make millions and drive a Lamborghini like Tommy. I think Tommy is truly an inspiration, his track record speaks for itself. Tommy is a 100% self-made man - he earned every dollar he has without any help at all. We need more role models like him in the world."

Richard's endorsement of Tommy made me challenge my own perceptions of him - after all, I think part of the reason why Tommy's working class demeanour (from his accent to his mannerisms to his tattoos) made me feel so uncomfortable was because there was a part of me that thought, "urgh no - please don't put me in that same category as him, I'm not working class today, I worked so hard to attain my social mobility so I put myself in the middle class category." But then again, that's me conveniently ignoring the fact that Tommy is making a lot more money than me today and he is undeniably brilliant at what he does. Richard is white and comes from privileged background but nonetheless, he isn't defaulting to the position that everyone who works in banking should be white and posh - if someone like Tommy can be a rank outsider and still achieve great success in the industry, then credit where credit is due. After all, the odds are stacked against people like Tommy and myself to succeed, so when outsiders do achieve success then it is so much more significant. So, how does this relate to Trump's appeal in America then? Many of us were repulsed by Trump in the way he doesn't behave decently - where do I begin? He is a liar, he is a cheat, he doesn't conduct himself with civility and he isn't even articulate on Twitter, often resorting to typing in CAPS rather than finding a more eloquent choice of words to make his point. Like Tommy, of course I know he is rich, but he doesn't have the refined manners that one would expect of the upper classes. He is not afraid to break the rules and social conventions and that has always been part of his appeal to some people - perhaps this is a calculated move on his part or perhaps this is just a coincidence that enough people out there happen to like this kind of behaviour. So either way, this has certainly worked in Trump's favour.

I would compare Trump's behaviour on Twitter to the many tattoos that Tommy has, such as the one of the dragon's tail on his neck to finishes behind his ear. It is a great big middle finger to the rules of social convention, it is a clear message that this individual does not play by the rules. There is a lot of pressure for everyone to be successful and of course, not everyone can be that perfect: some students may fail exams, you could lose your job over a mistake or your business could fail - your marriage could end in a divorce or you could be like my old friend George (not his real name). He was pretty much your ordinary average guy, married with a child, seemed relatively happy and then his wife meets someone else (let's call him Mr Perfect) who is more good looking, richer, more dynamic and she doesn't even have an affair with Mr Perfect. No, she falls in love with Mr Perfect, doesn't act upon it because it isn't the right thing to do as a wife and mother - but instead, the way she feels about Mr Perfect makes her regret her marriage to George and then one day she just flips out and says, "I can't do this anymore. I want out, this was all a mistake and I don't love you anymore. I need a divorce and for the sake of our son, please let's not make it needlessly messy." It's not like George did anything wrong or let his wife down, she just decided he isn't good enough and she regrets 'settling' for him when he proposed. Ouch. Think of how much that must hurt when the one person you love and trust tells you, "you're not good enough and I regret marrying you - I deserve better, even though you did nothing wrong. It was my mistake.  I don't know what the hell I was thinking." Now I can imagine such an experience would make someone like George want to support Trump because Trump shows that you don't have to have a perfect record, you can go through a divorce, you can have your business fail, you can make mistakes and still rise to the top regardless. Thus people like George do get hope from Trump's story. 

George is mild-mannered guy who followed the rules, always did the right, decent thing and somehow, turned out to be just mediocre at best. He was the guy who never won the gold medal when he took part in sports competitions, he was never awarded the scholarship for being the most brilliant student, he never got to ask the most beautiful girl in school out for the dance. He settled for mediocrity and thought he had found a wife who had felt the same way about settling for Mr Average instead of Mr Outstanding - but somehow, upon meeting Mr Perfect, his wife just realized, "why am I compromising and settling for someone like George when I really want to be with a winner like Mr Perfect? Even if I can't be with him, I don't want to be with George anymore as he is a constant reminder of my mediocrity." George did everything that was expected of him in his life - where's his reward? It is understandable at least to see why George can feel that he has had a bad deal in life. There are loads of mild mannered guys like George who act out their fantasies of rebellion through things through consuming certain kinds of media which embodies the spirit of rebellion - it is one thing to protest in the streets like in Hong Kong or Bangkok when the enemy is very clear, but what about for someone like George when the enemy is the system per se, which has given you a lousy deal? To say that George is frustrated with the system, with following the rules obediently, is a massive understatement at this point. Trump is not someone who follows the rules, he got to where he was by lying, cheating and breaking all the rules - okay, so he isn't 'presidential' (to put it mildly!) but that is exactly and precisely why he has appealed to so many people who voted for him and has further appeal worldwide, to people like George outside the US. Thus within this context, you can see why Trump's unwillingness to play by the rules is appealing to someone like George, who has been rather frustrated with the system. 

I talked about George as a example of how someone can be attracted to Trump's style - perhaps he is a bit of an extreme example, but what about Richard? He is rich and successful, he is white and works in banking, you would have thought that playing by the rules has certainly served him well, right? Actually no, Richard is actually extremely cynical about people like George (whom he considers a loser) and is a big fan of Trump not because he is blindly loyal to Trump's brand of politics, but because Richard believes that people who are simply following the rules and taking instructions would make good foot soldiers - they are the ones like George who can work over 20 years in a company, turning up for work on time everyday and only to be rewarded with some middle management role (which is actually true in the case of George) but he would never become truly rich or successful. So ironically, Richard would gladly give someone like George a job, given how obedient and hardworking George is but in his heart, Richard still looks down on people like George for not having achieved more in life. Instead, Richard believes that those who are going to become the leaders in the industry will gladly break the rules and create new ones; so by that token, Richard isn't that focused on Trump's behaviour but rather the fact that he managed to become president of the United States by taken a very unconventional route. It is highly unlikely that we'll ever see another American president take the route that Trump did in our lifetimes but simply achieving the desired result by taking a different route is enough for someone like Richard to say, "good for you Trump, you managed to get exactly what you wanted and you did it your way by tearing up the rule book. Trump saw what he wanted and he managed to take it by any means necessary." Richard simply believes that people who break the rules and take risks are far more rewarded in life than those like George, who follow the rules obediently. 

What about the fact that Trump uses sexist, xenophobic and unprofessional language in his tweets? Doesn't that cause offence to many? That depends actually! A lot of that depends on where you work - so for example, before Covid-19 came along, I spent a lot of my free time at my local gymnastics club training and volunteering. Now that's a clear example of an environment where there are children present so you really have to be extremely strict about the kind of language you use in front of children. Whereas the other extreme was the time I spent in the army, where people swore in a number of languages regularly and you wouldn't even bat an eyelid when that happened. Even someone like Richard has used some colourful language when in a private conversation with me, though I think he would exercise a lot more restraint when facing a client in a more formal setting. Of course, there is the expectation that presidents should be presidential in their behaviour and exercise restraint when it comes to their choice of language - but unless you are working in an environment with children (such as in a primary school), many adults don't actually exercise that much restraint. Thus how much they disapprove of Trump's behaviour and lack of restraint really depends on how they behave themselves. Hence just because I happen to find Trump's behaviour objectionable doesn't mean that everyone would feel the same way - let's take a simple issue like name calling. I don't think a president should do that but many people simply feel that it would be hypocritical to subject someone like Trump tohigher standards if they are in the habit of name calling themselves; thus many actually view this as a form of honesty because you know exactly what Trump is thinking. 

I have read so much in the media demonizing the supporters of Trump as right wing xenophobic, homophobic zealots who are just pure evil - don't get me wrong, there's no smoke without fire and there are a lot of Trump supporters who are really as evil as they come across. However, I'm not here to explain how Trump won the 2016 election - I'm here to discuss why seemingly normal people like Richard and George can admire and support Trump, even though they do not fit the image of your typical right wing Trump supporter. Richard achieved his success in business by breaking the rules and using unconventional tactics to get ahead of the competition - thus he is automatically attracted to people who do exactly what he does on a bigger scale as a form of confirmation that what he is doing is not just acceptable but the right formula for more success. As for George, ironically, he's the complete opposite of Richard of course - he's neither successful nor rich, even his (rather mediocre if I may be blunt) wife has dumped him, he's a fat, balding middle-aged man whom Richard would consider a complete loser. Nonetheless, George actually got behind the Trump bandwagon when he won in 2016 and I suspect there are two key reasons that motivated George: firstly, George is secretly wishing that he could have the balls to break the rules and do everything that people like Trump and Richard do. We shouldn't assume that someone like George would look up to someone else equally mediocre as reassurance that it is okay to turn 40 and realize that everyone you know thinks you're a loser. Please don't get me wrong, I would never call George a loser to his face - that would be uncalled for, that would be unnecessarily cruel. But do I think he is a loser? Just between you and I - of course he is; and that brings me neatly to the second reason why a loser like George may support Trump.

When you have nothing going right in your life (as in the case of George), you want to associate yourself with something, someone who will give you a sense of pride, that sense of glee and joy like when you win a gold medal. Perhaps I can take that for granted as a former national champion gymnast - there is a display cabinet in my parents' house which is so full of my medals and trophies that one of the shelves collapsed a few years ago under the weight of all those gold medals and trophies. But when I saw that Biden had won the election, I jumped up, I screamed in pure joy, I danced and I celebrated the same way I did when I would win a gymnastics competition. Okay, the circumstances are completely different of course, the joy was 100% genuine based on the fact that I got the results I wanted - let's not split hairs about the details. That joy which I experienced when I saw the election was so spontaneous, genuine and unbridled. Thus why wouldn't someone like George conveniently attach himself to a winning side and then join in the celebration just to experience that feeling of joy that comes with victory. That is actually strikingly similar to the working classes in the UK who are stuck in a boring, low-paid job that they hate but then they support a football team (which consist of the very best football players that money can buy) and when that team wins a match, they celebrate as if that victory was personal even though they're merely watching the match from their living room. Of course, this is when I get incredibly cynical, roll my eyes and say, "yeah, right." But football is a massive multi-billion dollar industry from TV rights to merchandise to advertising to ticket sales - there are loads of people who are willing to pay a lot of money just to experience the joy of victory that is so lacking from their lives. Oh and it is no coincidence of course, that George is football fan - a rather fickle one actually, he supports whichever team that is most likely to win the season and now you can see why I am so cynical. 

So would George suddenly flip from being a Trump supporter to a Biden supporter now that we have the election results? I don't know, to be honest I have not spoken to him since the election results but he has been awfully silent on social media - he certainly isn't one of those ardent Trump supporters who will follow Trump to the grave and donate his life savings to Trump's legal battle to overturn the election results. Oh please - George has a son and I certainly hope he is investing his money in his son's education rather than supporting Trump. My point is simple: someone like George may have supported Trump in the past, but he is not one of Trump's most loyal supporters - Trump's appeal to people like George and Richard depended on him projecting an image of strength, scoring victory after victory. Now that Trump has been branded a 'loser' (oh we all know that Trump hates that word so much) all over the media, people like George are going to find a new winner to support. From an intellectual point of view, I find the story of Trump fascinating: he was a game changer, he broke the rules and still won. From a personal point of view, of course I find him morally repugnant and abhor everything that he said and did. But rather than simply condemn anyone and everyone who supported Trump, I found it more interesting to try to find out why they liked Trump and it is never that straight forward. Both Richard and George supported Trump but for very different reasons - it is a personal choice at the end of the day as to why one chooses to support a certain politician, but it is interesting to compare and contrast the way these two very different men have ended up making the same choice to endorse Trump when neither of them fit the typical image of what a Trump supporter looks like. That's why the Trump support base is actually a lot more diverse than you may think and that's why so many people have underestimated Trump because they have made certain assumptions about his typical supporters. 

As for myself, my regular readers will know how much I disliked Trump - when the results were made official on Saturday, I wasn't even celebrating that Biden won, I was celebrating that Trump lost. Sorry but I found it hard to get excited over Biden but I was just relieved that the Democrats didn't make the same mistake as the last time when they grossly underestimated how unpopular Hillary Clinton was. However, it would be an overly simplistic narrative to believe that Americans have learnt their lesson, that voting for Trump in 2016 was a mistake and the last four years has been a high price to pay for their folly. It is in my character to follow the rules and try to achieve social mobility by learning the rules of the game, rather than try to do what Tommy did and become very successful whilst having no desire to conform. Now you could argue that it is because I spent my childhood in Singapore and thus following the rules is a big part of the culture there, but I think the factor that has influenced me far more than anything else is how gymnastics has dominated my younger years - for those of you who are not familiar with gymnastics, this is a judged sport so you perform a routine for the judges at the competition and they use the rule book (otherwise know as the 'Code of Points') to evaluate your routine and give you a score. The Code of Points is standardized around the world, so it doesn't matter if a Japanese gymnast goes competes in Brazil or if a French gymnast shows up in in a competition in Australia - you know they will all be judged using the exact same rules. This is why I have always played by the rules though I can see how this may not always yield the best results, especially outside the world of gymnastics as in the case of George. Nonetheless, following the rules has given me a good life, that's why I don't respond well to the way Trump breaks many rules when it suits him. 

So there you go - I hope this post has helped given some perspective on the appeal of Trump and I hope this has demonstrated that I am really trying hard to understand people who may not share my point of view. I don't like Trump, I am super happy that he lost and whilst I am not a huge fan of Biden, but after the experience we've had with Trump, things can only get better. I have a few other issues I wish to discuss about the election but I'll save them for another time. How do you feel about the election? As always please do let me know what you think and many thanks for reading.