Those wondering how Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican party presidential nominee should have a look at this video, and listen to the short comment below. In a case of remarkably fortunate timing, the Lowy Institute, publisher of The Interpreter, today hosted a lunchtime lecture from renowned US journalist, author and one time presidential speech writer James Fallows. Fallows, speaking just a few hours after Trump rival Ted Cruz bowed out of the race, told the capacity crowd he was honoured to be delivering the first speech of the Trump political era. In his lecture Fallows explained why he thinks Trump will be the end of the GOP, why Trump has emerged triumphant from the once-crowded field vying for the GOP nomination, and why Trump is very, very unlikely to win the election. (You can listen to the full lecture here.)
On the second point, Fallows said it was a strange confluence of events that has allowed Trump to pull ahead and one of these was the fact the primary race had become 'indistinguishable from an American reality TV show' and 'a lot like pro-wrestling which is full of phony, histrionic, tough-guy performances'. Fallows urged the audience to look at this wrestling video, recorded back in 2007 in one of Trump's many past lives as a pro-wrestling promoter. Fallows said the video was both 'primal and Lord of the Flies like'; a good description for the Republican nomination race of 2016.
In this quick comment, Fallows elaborates on his views on Donald Trump's campaign success to date and what is says about the US.
