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Trump’s victory echoes here at home

Peter Bingle
November 9, 2016

Trump's victory offers profound lessons for both sides of the Atlantic. Change is coming, says Peter Bingle. 

The Prime Minister and her aides must heed the message from Trump's victory; it demonstrates the deep anger and despair felt by many Americans, which are also echoed on this side of the Atlantic, says Peter Bingle.

Donald J Trump has just run one of the truly great election campaigns. Tapping into the fears and anger of an electorate which felt betrayed by the Washington elite, he created, mobilised and then brilliantly deployed one of the largest ever mass movements. This is pure democracy at work and once created there is nothing it can't achieve.

Unlike Hillary Clinton and her showbiz celebrity friends, Trump and his underrated running mate Mike Pence used two great election slogans: 'Make America Great Again' and 'Drain The Swamp'. Brilliantly simple and devastatingly effective, these slogans mobilised voters from every ethnic group, men and women, evangelicals, Catholics and atheists. Hillary had nothing to compare.

In the latter stages of the campaign Hillary deployed Barack Obama at her rallies and portrayed herself as the continuity candidate. This was a terrible miscalculation. Voters wanted dramatic change not more of the same. They regarded Obama's legacy as meagre and tainted.

The Left are currently in shock. They never thought this could ever happen. When they have recovered their composure, however, they should look at Trump's victories in states such as North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. These are stunning results.

Unlike the pollsters who once again got it all wrong I always suspected and latterly believed that Trump was going to win. Just as with the Brexit vote on 23rd June there was a growing and pent up anger and frustration which needed to be vented. Last night Trump allowed American voters to release that anger and the political ramifications are there for all to see.

There are lessons for the PM and her aides in Trump's victory. In many parts of the UK there is also a deep anger and despair. Westminster seems distant and disinterested in their concerns. The PM needs to show she gets it and is determined to put things right. Otherwise there is a danger of the anger spilling over and becoming very nasty.

For now, however, all of us addicted to politics should analyse Trump's campaign. The strategy. The messages. The tactics and, most interestingly of all, the use of social media. There is much to learn from this brilliantly effective political campaign. One of the truly great campaigns…

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Peter is the Founder of Terrapin Communications. With a career in politics and communications that has spanned almost four decades, he is one of the country's leading public affairs practitioners. His career has seen him advise many top companies, including McDonald’s, HSBC, L’Oreal, Permira, Motorola, Camelot, Rolls Royce & Kellogg's.
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