Dodge and Weave: Trump, the 2024 Presidential Election and the End of Politics

• In Event: Voting Behavior and Electoral Dynamics I

Abstract

Since his arrival on the national political stage in 2016, Donald Trump has defied efforts to account for his success. How has a political figure who so openly violates many of the established conventions of U.S. politics remained politically viable? From the personal attacks to his efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power to his impeachments and felony convictions, Trump has repeatedly transgressed norms once firmly entrenched in the nation’s politics. However, rather than harm him, his behavior has often strengthened his appeal among voters – something that scholars and other political observers have struggled to understand. What they have often failed to appreciate are the strategic dimensions of the Trump phenomenon. Specifically, they have missed the importance Trump and his campaigns have placed on properly positioning him with selected voter segments, and the political, and ethical fungibility it has afforded him. The object of this paper is to examine Trump’s political resilience, demonstrated most recently by his victory in the 2024 Presidential election. It will do so by highlighting the strategic flexibility Trump has gained by carefully grounding his campaign communication strategy in political frames unique to the voter groups targeted by his campaign.

Author

• Brian Conley, Suffolk University