Seminar in US Politics

After his win in New York, Donald Trump is planning to reshape his campaign and adopt more traditional campaign tactics such as using a speechwriter and teleprompters, as well as more policy addresses. His efforts to adopt a more conventional campaign approach are cited to stem from their belief that “the campaign needed to adjust to ‘political realities’ and prepare for a general election.” In an interview, Trump acknowledged the need for a shift, saying, “The campaign is evolving and transitioning, and so am I. I’ll be more effective and more disciplined. I’m not going to blow it.” Trump’s campaign plans to take on a new media strategy as well that controls his media impression to be one that is more powerful.

Trump’s efforts to play the game more seriously and start presenting a less extreme vision of himself are reflective of the shift that most candidates make away from their more extreme views in preparation of the general election, the time when the more moderate majority of voters start to get involved. But Trump is unique in that his radical positions have penetrated a great deal of popular media by nature of them being so extreme. References to his outrageous and offensive statements are practically inescapable not only for the people paying attention to the election so far, but also those more moderate voters who otherwise lack that same exposure to the other nominees. Given this, it seems like it will take a lot for him to break his associations with the polarizing positions he’s taken in his nomination campaign. It will be interesting to see how this new media impression plays out, and whether Trump is able to begin reshaping public opinion to take him more seriously.

 

Article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-im-not-going-to-blow-it-1461200705?mod=trending_now_

On Tuesday April 12, Paul Ryan ruled out the bid for the presidency this year, advocating that the Republican Party’s choice should emerge from the candidates who pursued the GOP nomination. In a brief news conference, Republican National Committee officials speculated that Speaker Ryan could very well end up as the party’s nomination. However, Ryan respectfully declined to accept such speculations. To quote Ryan: “If no candidate has a majority on the first ballot, I believe you should only choose a person who actually participated in the primaries. Let me be clear: I do not want, nor will I accept, the Republican nomination. Count me out.”
An admirable and respectful comment from Speaker Ryan, however, if no candidate receives a majority on the ballot (a possibility looking more likely every day), who do you predict the nomination being thrown to? I would like to say Governor Kasich, but as we discussed in class, I do not see anyone backing a candidate who only won a single primary out of 50. Any thoughts from my classmates on this subject matter?

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