I have a confession to make: I’m obsessed with Donald Trump. Really. Ever since the first Republican debate I’ve been transfixed by this unique phenomenon. For years we’ve been clamouring for a straight-talking politician who speaks his mind, and here one was. Just one small catch of course, he’s a racist, sexist, unintelligent, ill-informed pathological liar. Oh well, we thought, it’s just a neat marketing stunt to sell a book, there’s no way he’ll stick around. But he did. Then the polls came in with him leading, but that will never last once the novelty wears off, the leader at the beginning of a primary is never the winner, there’s no way he’ll hold his lead. But he did. What do polls know? He’ll never actually be able to win a primary. But he did. That, of course, was because the GOP was split between other candidates; in a two-horse race there simply aren’t enough extremist voters to keep him relevant, there’s no way he can get over 50% of the vote. But he did. Having the popular vote is one thing, but there’s no way he’ll be able to get the establishment GOP members to support his candidacy. But he did. We’re losing sight here, it’s long been apparent that the GOP contains a far greater proportion of extremist voters than the American public as a whole. Just wait until the polls of him vs Clinton come out, there’s no way he can persuade them with his racist rhetoric. But he did. Then the audio of him openly discussing groping women was released – Trump has survived a lot of smaller-scale scandals, but there’s no way he can recover from this one. But he did.
And here we are. As I write this there is just one week to go before the election – Trump’s success is unprecedented. With almost every media outlet in the country running constant spin stories to hurt his chances, and every prominent figure scrambling to endorse his opponent, he’d be dead in the water against literally anyone else. Trump is truly fighting an uphill battle, but there’s a reason he’s gotten this far. It’s the reason his supports are so loyal even in the face of evidence that should make them turn. The reason that his supporters are so loyal is that over the last 12 months they’ve been conditioned not to treat him as a political candidate, but as a mascot. A mascot for THEIR team. This election isn’t politics anymore, it’s a sport. And while voters are fickle, fans are loyal. If a politician does something despicable, the voter abandons them. But when it’s your team the scandal is not something to dwell on or think about, it’s just another obstacle in the path to winning that, as a team, you have to overcome. This fanatical loyalty he inspires is, frankly, terrifying. But hey, the people of America can’t all be that blind. There’s no way Donald Trump will become president.

Christopher Vickers

(Image courtesy of NBC News)