After reading our last newsletter, an annoyed friend wrote me, “What?? How can you say that Trump is a highly skilled winner? What makes you think that?”
Um, how about the fact that he has absolutely annihilated the entire GOP field?
And the fact that when he started his campaign some nine months ago, he was mocked and scorned, The Huffington Post branded him a “sideshow,” bets were on that he would be destroyed by battle-hardened politicians like Jeb, but look at what happened.
By seemingly just being Trump, he has mowed down the field, including easily dispatching Jeb Bush.
Whether you love him or want to throw him from the top of his gold tower, you would have to be one-eyed (and blind) to deny that he is masterful at winning.
Now, of course, many observers are 🙂
Telling themselves that Trump is merely inciting angry voters, or labeling him a racist, bigot, or whatnot, they are completely missing the game.
Falling into what I call the “Trump trap,” talking about what he is saying, they fail to see what he is doing.
Like the many people who still believe that the 2008 recession and credit crisis was the source of our problems, they fail to look for the underlying cause (hence, we keep making the same mistakes).
And those folks who do the same with Trump will never learn the lesson.
They will keep going through life thinking that it’s a game of chance, rather than a game of skill. And they will keep losing.
The fact is, Donald is winning because he is a highly skilled winner, particularly at this type of game.
Think of it this way.
In a game of selling, marketing, branding, and influence, who would you expect to win, Ben Carson or Donald Trump?
Similarly, in a popularity contest where you were forced to choose the most charismatic and engaging leader, would you expect Jeb to best Trump?
Of course not.
The problem for Donald’s rivals and many observers is that they have failed to properly define the game.
They still think that elections are won on politics, when it should be obvious that an election is a game of influence, and a wizard of influence should win every time.
How do they think Obama won?