The Ingenious Lunacy of Donald Trump

When billionaire businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump announced he was running for the Republican nomination for president on June 16th, most people rolled their eyes, chuckled and prepared to watch this ill-conceived PR stunt unfold before their eager eyes. What actually happened has surprised just about every political observer in the country; six weeks into his campaign, Trump has risen to the top of the Republican field.

The Donald, as he has become known, and his campaign have been chock-full of controversy from the very start. It began with his announcement speech, in which he accused Mexican immigrants of being rapists and drug dealers (though “some, [he] assumes, are good people”). Since then, he has attacked both Republican and Democratic candidates with an unearthly zeal. He accused Jeb Bush of liking “Mexican illegals because of his wife”, said Sen. John McCain wasn’t a war hero because he was captured, said Rick Perry, even with glasses, was dumb, and gave out presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham’s personal phone number at a campaign event and called him a “lightweight”, a “stiff”, and an “idiot”. Trump has even threatened the GOP by floating the possibility of running as a third party candidate.

Donald Trump addresses the crowd at his announcement speech in June.

At first, Trump’s maddening antics seemed to be backfiring. Univision, the largest Spanish language network in America, cut ties with the billionaire after his comments about Mexican immigrants. This was followed shortly by NBC cutting The Apprentice and ending their affiliation with Trump for the same reason. He became the target of bipartisan criticism for his crass comments, and it seemed things were falling apart just as they’d begun.

However, hidden in the insanity of the comments Trump was making, there were shreds of incredible political acumen. Though most people were appalled by his comments, everyone was talking about him and the things he was saying; you couldn’t turn on the news without hearing about the latest insult The Donald had dished out. Gone were the headlines on Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, the reports on policy positions and political maneuvering; the news cycle had become Donald Trump coverage, 24/7.

Between the media attention and the attraction of supporting a candidate that’s supposedly not afraid to speak his mind, GOP primary voters have flocked to Trump and put him in front of the pack in the national polls. RealClearPolitics national polling averages have the erratic businessman garnering 18.2% of the vote, breaking away from heavy favorites Jeb Bush (13.7%) and Scott Walker (11.7%). The latest NBC/Marist poll has even put him far in front in the first-in-the-nation primary state, New Hampshire, with 21% of the vote.

Even though he’s doubtlessly completely alienated quite a few voters across America, The Donald’s startling success in the polls could turn him into a real heavyweight in the GOP primary if he plays his cards right. The first Republican debate is just five days away, and Trump could conceivably start to pull even further away with a commanding performance. Though his incendiary comments initially seemed like political suicide, Trump has quite cleverly used those comments to grab a monopoly of the media’s time and the capture the undivided attention of the nation.

Some might label Donald Trump a bully or a lunatic, but behind his blustering insults and mildly horrifying comb-over lies a pretty ingenious political plan. So far, that plan is working wonders.