What I as a European Think the Reasons Are Why Americans Are Voting for Trump
What Trump represents will not be gone any time soon
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America’s voting and the world is watching. I can’t think of another election that raised eyebrows like the current campaign. An open exchange of blows from both sides, which didn’t go unnoticed — even here in Europe.
The Trump vs. Hillary campaign was huge, but the latest Trump vs. Biden is fiercer than anything we’ve ever seen before. America has a big entertainment industry, but this one is bigger than any blockbuster movie.
When Trump announced he would be running for president back in 2015, it was the first time I had heard of him since the 1980s. Yes, no joke, it’s that long ago. I don’t follow TV shows anymore, so I found out about his reality show “The Apprentice”, only after he became president.
Trump was an icon in the ‘80s
Be it in the U.S. or Europe, if you were around in the '80s, then you knew who Donald Trump was. He was one of the representatives of an era that was, in contrast to the ‘60s and ‘70s, not about us, but about me “making it” — big time. In a way, it’s the same today, but back then it was the first post-war decade that was all about individual success and achievement.
The term celebrity wasn’t created yet, it existed as a word, but had a very different connotation to it. I’d say the biggest difference between a celeb today and a famous person back then was that in order to be known for, you actually had to be good at something.
I know of so many celebrities today where I need to ask my wife what they are actually famous for, and very often she says: “Well, they have a huge following on Instagram where they post pictures of the successful life they’re having.” And quite often, I ask: “Successful— in which way?” And the answer more often than not is: “I don’t know exactly — they are just big on social media.”
Ah, now I get it. They don’t sell snake oil, they sell virtual snake oil. I guess, I’m a bit old-school when it comes to fame and success. I still believe that these words are by-products of a job, sport, business, or whatever else that you do really well. We admire people for their…
