CONVENTION IN CLEVELAND The lights dimmed and We Are the Champions by Queen blasted from the speakers at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland Ohio A few seconds later Donald J Trump strode out silhouetted by the backlit stage filled with smoke from a fog machine Clapping he approached the podium which rose out of the stage in front of him We’re gonna win we’re gonna win so big Trump exclaimed to the cheering crowd at the Republican National Convention RNC on July 18 2016 1 The scene was undeniably dramatic for a political convention but not surprising given the party’s presumptive nominee for president Trump had spent his entire career as a businessman creating an image that radiated success confidence and drama Unafraid to boast about his success and his aggressive competitive business style Trump capitalized on this brand in his Never one to shy away from drama Trump made a memorable entrance at the RNC 5
run for the Republican nomination His personality and name were unofficial cornerstones of the RNC FROM CEO TO PRESIDENT Donald Trump often spoke of his business experience during the campaign He is not the first business leader to run for the office of president Seven former presidents ran businesses before holding the nation’s highest office Presidents George W Bush and his father George H W Bush were both in the oil business Harry S Truman owned a men’s clothing company Warren Harding operated a newspaper Herbert Hoover ran a mining company and Calvin Coolidge was vice president of a bank in western Massachusetts The Road to Cleveland It had been a long road to the RNC Trump had begun making stops across the country more than a year before to gauge early support He formally announced his candidacy on June 16 2015 while descending the escalator in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City In his remarks he unveiled his campaign slogan Make America Great Again He pronounced himself the outsider candidate He had spent his life making billions of dollars not serving as a career politician in Washington DC This he said made him uniquely qualified to make the big changes Americans were increasingly demanding 6 ESSENTIAL LIVES
Over the past 20 years American politics had become increasingly polarized Fewer Americans identified as moderates Instead they were identifying with one of the two extremes conservative or liberal People in each group felt they had little common ground with those in the other At the same time nearly all Americans had become increasingly frustrated with the government In 2015 only 19 percent of Americans said they trusted the government most or all of the time 2 Given this context it was not surprising that candidates who claimed to be antiestablishment became contenders in the presidential race Trump became the outsider figure in the Republican race Bernie Sanders ran against Hillary Clinton as the outsider candidate for the Democrats Trump and Sanders both appealed to a public that wanted to see a major change in US leaders Throughout the primary season Trump addressed the fears and frustrations of many conservative voters He promised to increase US jobs To prevent terrorism Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States He also promised to build a wall between the United States and Mexico to stop illegal immigration Trump planned to cut taxes and leave Social Security benefits as they are DONALD TRUMP 7
