Why The Donald Trumped The GOP Field

Virtually no one gave him a chance.  The pundits guffawed.  The Republican establishment winked at the thought he could actually win the presidential primary.  The news media wrote off his candidacy. His 16 GOP opponents sniffed at his celebrity status and mocked his lack of political experience.

Yet it should have been clear from the beginning of the Republican presidential primary season that Donald Trump had something none of his rivals possessed.  He understood the mood of Republican voters better than even Washington's elite political class.  His instincts trumped their voter data.

From his campaign liftoff until Indiana's make-or-break primary last week, Trump tapped into the anger boiling in the party among voters fed up with the lapdog Republican leadership and their lemming-like cohorts in the House and Senate.  GOP voters felt betrayed, ignored and rebuked.

Only Trump seized upon that voter contempt.  He knew the party's rank-and-file loyalists were dumbstruck by the utter failure of Republican majorities in the House and Senate to stop President Obama from implementing his agenda.  They yearned for a give-em-hell outsider, not the status quo.

Party voters were sick and tired of the excuses of cowardly leaders, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner.  The duo surrendered to Mr. Obama on the federal budget and waved the white flag on immigration, while reminding voters they were helpless because they didn't control The Oval Office.

Their ineptness left the door open for an anti-Republican, anti-politician.    

Trump established his anti-Washington bonafides by tackling the immigration issue, promising to build a wall on the border with Mexico. That single issue jump-started his campaign.  His game plan was to dominate the news cycles, forcing his opponents to play catch-up on issues.

It was a brilliant strategy that left the field struggling to break through the media clutter with their warmed-over stump speeches. The candidates were compelled to talk about Trump's agenda.  They spent the entire campaign reacting instead of being on the offensive.

While his opponents lit up the airwaves with commercials, Trump defied conventional wisdom by advertising sparingly.  Instead, he appeared non-stop on television news shows without spending a dime. The alphabet networks were happy to oblige, since Trump lured record audience numbers.

He eschewed a political ground campaign in favor of massive rallies.  He addressed the raucous crowds without a scripted message.  He unleashed outrageous, politically incorrect statements to thunderous applause.  His staff was Lilliputian compared to the other candidates' entourages.

Even after early primary wins, the Republican know-it-alls refused to acknowledge Trump could emerge with the nomination.  The pundits claimed he lost each one of the endless string of debates. It never mattered.  His appeal metastasized and his opponents grew desperate.

Trump was connecting with voters, especially on issues such as trade and jobs.  His message was unadorned by political speak.  He was direct, bombastic and belittled the other contestants.  He was politically unpolished.  He didn't rely on polls and focus groups.  He winged it on guts and guile.

The GOP presidential aspirants were left gasping for traction. Jeb Bush never got the memo that the Republican electorate was fatigued with the Bush political dynasty. He reminded Republicans of the old-guard, by-the-book, establishment bosses who have ruled the party with an iron fist for decades.

Marco Rubio offered a fresh face and a positive message, both sorely missing in the last two GOP runs for the White House.  But he leaned too heavily on consultants who advised him to become an attack dog, an unfamiliar role that left voters worried about his character.    

John Kasich was mired in the past, continually harping about his experience in Washington to an electorate that held its nose every time he recited his Beltway record.  Ben Carson was a gracious, well-mannered, intelligent man ill prepared for the political wars. Nice guys often finish last.

That brings us to Senator Ted Cruz,  a constitutionalist revered by the party's conservative wing.  His grasp of issues was uncanny but his brusque tone and dour demeanor made him seem like a grouch. He preached conservatism to voters more interested in shaking up the ruling establishment.

Undoubtedly, Trump's celebrity status was part of his appeal.  But that isn't surprising. This is the Age of Celebrity.  The current president ran as a political rock star, complete with fainting worshipers and concert-like crowds. Voters take their cues from social media, not The New York Times.

The Republican establishment served up uninspiring John McCain and Mitt Romney in the last two elections. Mannered men with no stomach for the bare-knuckled campaigning of today. GOP voters were in no mood for the same dull suits.  They wanted a raw-meat, barnyard brawler.

Those who abhor Trump cling to the notion that the New Yorker won only because of the crowded field.  That smacks of sour grapes.  Trump was victorious because he gave Republican voters what they wanted. No one else ever figured out the GOP electorate had morphed into an fuming mob.

The Republican electorate no longer resembles your Dad's Grand Old Party.  They are more moderate, less doctrinal, anti-free-trade and decidedly isolationist.  Trump's candidacy has not changed the party. The electorate has embraced positions once unthinkable for conservatives.

Only Trump grasped the shift.  Blue-collar workers, traditionally reliably Democrats, showed up at rallies and voted for Trump in open primaries. Republicans turned out in record numbers at the polls and Trump collected more popular voters than previous GOP presidential contenders.

Now the naysayers are predicting that Democratic Party presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton will crush Trump in a landslide, assuming she can finally dispatch a 74-year old socialist.  Yet Clinton has more baggage than the overhead bins of a 100 Southwest Airlines flights.

The general election will likely evolve into a mudslinging, no-holes barred cage fight.  If it does, don't bet against Donald Trump. Those who underestimate the billionaire businessman do so at their own peril. Just ask the 16 former Republican presidential contenders.