Photo Gallery The Autocrat
If there's one thing Donald Trump believes in more than anything, it's himself. His unabashed hubris has become a trademark of sorts, one that is cultivated with haughty statements like: "We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with winning," or, "I will be the greatest jobs president that God has ever created."
It's hard to discern concrete policy proposals out of Trump's jingoistic pandering. One minute he may advocate a non-interventionalist stance, only to then switch gears to militaristic chest-thumping, saying how he wants to send American "warriors" to "kick ISIS's ass." In his words: "I'm the most militaristic Person there is." His supporters, however, don't seem to mind his bellicose attitude.
Trump has been called many things, but "diplomatic" is hardly one of them. He has threatened to impose high tariffs on Chinese exports to the US. He has promised to build a "great, great wall" and make Mexico pay for it. And he has said he would block all Muslims from entering the country. Those who feel personally affected by Trump's rabble-rousing include Rose Hamid, pictured above, who was thrown out of a Trump event after standing up in silent protest.
Inside the Republican Party, the dominant view is that Trump represents the downfall of conservativism. Even for some party hardliners, their loyalty has its limits. Peter Wehner, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush who has served in the last three Republican administrations, says Trump "has authoriatian tendencies and a certain cruelty. He is a toxic figure, a demagogue."
Many Trump supporters make no effort to hide their political leanings, like Iowa resident George Daveys, who erected a giant poster of the candidate in his backyard. Trump has even managed to attract otherwise liberal voters who find the prospect of voting for Hillary Clinton unthinkable.
Trump's entire family shares his inability to reflect critically upon themselves, says Michael D'Antonio, who wrote a recent biography about the candidate. D'Antonio recalls the time he tried to joke with Trump's children about their father's penchant for gold and glitter. "They don't notice when something is ridiculous," he says. "This is the most telling characteristic of the entire Trump clan: the persistent denial of reflection."
Trump, it seems, wants to govern the world's largest economy the same way he became a billionaire -- a few bankruptcies notwithstanding. He expects voters to trust that his brash style will serve him in delicate diplomatic negotiations as well as it did in the boardroom.
