Donald Trump was a television star, a businessman, and now a politician.
This jump from entertainer to presidential candidate, along with his unique campaign tactics, may forever change the landscape of politics, media experts say.
“What Donald Trump has done is keep his political message short,” said Jeff McCall, professor of communications and media studies. “He has a short playbook and it has worked because he’s never asked by the media to expand.”
McCall said Trump has used news organizations to his advantage.
“Trump really worked the media, especially during the primary,” McCall said. “Being so open to the media and having these large rallies were a way to gain publicity without having to pay for advertisements.”
Because of his exposure to the media, the public heard more of Trump than any other candidate.
“During the entire election season, all I saw was Trump,” said sophomore Tierra Leustig. “He was all over the television.”
McCall believes there are negatives to Trump’s strategy as well.
“Trump was his own worst enemy at times,” McCall said. “The media covered him on a superficial level so many times because he would say things that were not important, like insults.”
During this presidential election, insulting became a more prominent tactic amongst the candidates more than ever before, according to McCall.
“Election seasons are always very rocky,” McCall said. “But the harshness has been taken to a different level this year.”
Matt Labus, a member of DePauw’s College Republicans chapter, believes the insults have caught the eye of young voters.
“From my experience talking to other college kids, they never talk about his tax plans or health care plans,” Labus said. “They only talk about his most recent tweet about Hillary.”
Leustig agrees that college students are more interested in Trump’s insults rather than his policies.“I have to definitely read up on Trump’s policies to get an understanding,” Leustig said. “But all I have to do to hear about his insults is sit down at lunch.”
Trump brings in the celebrity factor into the election as well. He was the star of his reality television show, “The Apprentice”, and also made appearances on “WWE SmackDown.” Having no prior political experience at all, he has gone straight from businessman and television star to politician.
This jump from entertainer to politician harkens back to President Ronald Reagan who was an actor before entering politics. “This is quite different than Ronald Reagan,” McCall said. “Trump has gone straight from celebrity to presidential candidate.” Reagan was elected governor of California before becoming president in 1981.
Labus believes Trump’s Hollywood history is intriguing to millennials voting for the first time. “All the young voters know Trump as the star of The Apprentice,” Labus said. “But they only know Hillary as the politician. Which is more exciting and intriguing?”
However, since Clinton lacks the celebrity role Trump holds, she has used many celebrities to promote her candidacy. Basketball star Lebron James and singer Katy Perry have shown up at Clinton rallies.
McCall could see more celebrities taking Trump’s lead and running for political positions in future elections.
“It worries me a little that the success Trump has had as a celebrity running for office will make future elections full of high-profile people who are not public servants,” McCall said. “There are already reports of Curt Schilling using his fame to run for a political position out west.”
Despite Trump’s celebrity status, Labus believes our nation as a whole will still make an educated decision in the voting booth.
“America is star struck to an extent,” Labus said. “But there are still enough citizens of this country that care about the real issues to look past some of these antics.”